Russia may move as far as to slap sanctions on Armenia (for drifting away from Moscow’s zone of influence), warns Vahram Mirakyan, Chairman of the Mantashyants Entrepreneurs Association.
"Taking into account the fact that Russian politics prefers to use brute force instead of 'soft power,' which is not applied or it is done poorly, everything can be expected," Mirakyan said in an interview with ARKA Business program on ARKA news agency’s YouTube channel.
The consequences of possible sanctions, he said, depend on Armenia's reaction.
"If Armenian authorities manage to reintegrate the economy, the consequences will not be serious, if they fail – they will be severe. They also depend on what kind of sanctions Russia may apply- whether they would affect energy resources, for example, they may turn off natural gas supplies or raise its price," he said.
Mirakyan noted that Armenia should have alternatives in terms of security and economy, diversify everything so that Russia would not throw back the Armenian economy to the level of '93 by imposing sanctions.
Earlier it was reported that about 60 trucks with Armenian cognac of different producers had been stuck at the Georgian-Russian checkpoint Upper Lars due to tightened customs control enforced by Russian customs authorities.
In an interview on Tuesday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan denied the assumption that Russia has closed or will close its market for Armenian-made goods, ARKA reports.
