Armenia could take Russia to court if the two sides fail to resolve a dispute over the operation of the country’s railways, Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Simonyan said, while also insisting that Yerevan does not currently plan to leave the Eurasian Economic Union.
Simonyan made the comments in an interview with the television channel Dozhd.
He said that if a referendum on Armenia’s membership in the European Union or the Eurasian Economic Union were held in the near future, the response from Armenian voters would likely disappoint Russia.
“We will make our choice when this issue becomes real. There are currently no concrete steps toward joining the European Union. We do not want to and are not planning to leave the EAEU,” Simonyan said.
Simonyan also addressed Armenia’s request that Russia transfer management of the country’s railways to a third party, insisting that the proposal was not politically motivated.
“We are asking the Russian side to show flexibility so that these railways can operate, because the current logic can be summed up by the saying: ‘A dog in the manger.’ If we fail to find a way out of the situation, Armenia may take the matter to court, because the functioning of the railway is a matter of national security,” he said.
Simonyan's comments indicate that Armenia is prepared to pursue legal action if no solution can be found to ensure the continued operation of its railway system.
By Tamilla Hasanova
