Armenian gov't made strategic mistake to allow Russia own country's entire energy market - Matthew Bryza

Armenian government failed to build some breathing space for itself, Matthew Bryza, the former deputy assistant of the US secretary of state for South Caucasus, former US ambassador to Azerbaijan and director of International Centre for Defense Studies in Tallinn told Trend June 25.

Years ago, the US government strongly encouraged Armenian government to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies, he said, however the completely opposite happened, Russian companies bought all Armenian energy infrastructure, they control and own it.

"That was a strategic mistake, to allow Russian companies to own the entire energy market of Armenia" said Bryza.

Speaking about comparison between the protests in Armenia and the situation in Ukraine, Bryza said there is no direct parallel, adding that situations in Kiev and Yerevan are unique.

“Putting a label like “Maidan of Armenia” is an attempt of Russia to deflect responsibility of its own companies raising electricity prices without consultation,” he said.

The US has nothing to do with these protests, this is a natural reaction to the Russian companies, which increased the electricity prices, according to Bryza.

The government of Armenia needs to negotiate with Russian energy companies and find a way to implement whatever prices policy is necessary, Bryza said.

On June 23, the Armenian police broke up a rally in the center of the country’s capital. The rally was held in protest against the increased electricity tariffs. The protests in the streets resulted in use of water cannons against people. Over 230 people got arrested as a result of violent crackdown, including journalists of Gala TV, the Radio Liberty’s Armenian office, the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, the Hetq, News.am, Panarmenian.net news agencies.

On June 17, Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission, considering a request from the distribution company, Electric Networks of Armenia, which is a subsidiary of the Inter RAO UES, raised the electricity tariffs by 6.93 Armenian drams (about $0.015). This caused discontent among the population that believes the rise in the cost of electricity will lead to higher prices for essential goods and many services.

/By Trend/