Armenia's economy to suffer from U.S. sanctions
By Jamila Babayeva
The U.S. has widened sanctions on Russia due to its interference in Ukraine's crisis. The Russian state companies Gazprombank and Rosneft are among the latest Russian entities coming under U.S. sanctions.
The sanctions ban these companies' entrance to the U.S. financial markets. Russia's President Vladimir Putin condemned the latest sanctions. He said the sanctions will strain bilateral relations and hurt Russian and U.S. joint businesses.
Gazprombank and Rosneft have significant share in Armenian market. So pressure on these companies' will affect inevitably the Armenian small economy.
The Russian Gazprombank has a subsidiary Areximbank- Gazprombank Group in Armenia. The assets of this group amounts to around $344 million. A few months ago Rosneft stated it would examine opportunities for investing in Armenia's Nairit Rubber Plant, which is facing serious financial difficulties.
Armenian Economy Minister Karen Chshmarityan acknowledged that U.S. sanctions will affect Armenia negatively, local media reported.
"I think that sanctions will have some effects," he told reporters.
Armenia's small economy strongly depends on Russia. Local experts said the second package of sanctions against Russia will certainly affect Armenia's economy.
"The sanctions will directly affect Armenia's economy because the Russian companies may refuse to invest in Armenia further," they noted.