Armenia will have to find an additional $1 billion for gas, says Russian Security Council official

Armenia would need to find an additional $1 billion to pay for gas, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Alexey Shevtsov told the Vesti news service.

According to Shevtsov, Armenia currently purchases Russian natural gas at a price of $177.5 per 1,000 cubic meters.

“Exchange prices, as we discussed in a previous interview, are currently around $600 and can rise to as much as $800. Given that Armenia receives 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia, a simple calculation shows that Armenia would have to find an additional $1 billion, and possibly even more,” Shevtsov said.

Earlier, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivlyov suggested that Armenia try replacing Russian gas with European supplies and see what results such a move would produce.