German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during a briefing with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, commented on reports of Russia circumventing sanctions with the help of Armenia.
He was asked why the trade turnover between Yerevan and Moscow, as well as between Armenia and the EU, had increased sharply, which could indicate Armenia’s aid to Russia to circumvent sanctions.
Scholz noted that he had already discussed this issue with Pashinyan and was monitoring trade statistics.
“At the same time, it is also important for us (…) to see if we can be sure that our sanctions in the economic field will not be circumvented. This is what we demand and where we hope that the rules that we have will be respected,” he replied.
Over the past year, Germany’s exports to Armenia have risen sharply, from 178 to 505 million euros. And from the EU as a whole – almost twice, from 753 million to 1.3 billion euros. At the same time, Armenia’s exports to Russia almost tripled in 2022, from 841 million to 2.4 billion.
