The Azerbaijani –Armenian economic relations develop without launching the Meghri road

Baku/14.01.21/Turan: After publishing the second Statement of the heads of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, which contained nothing but the road of economic cooperation, an expert for Azerbaijan Angela Elibegova made a speech in the Yerevan press.

“When SOCAR filling stations appear in Armenia, there will certainly be those who will say that it is “cheap and of high quality”. But this is the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, that is, the profit goes to Azerbaijan’s state budget; that is, you will fill up gasoline, and they will buy “bayraktar” and kill your children,” she said.

So far, there are no SOCAR gas stations in Armenia, but Armenian drivers "finance the murder of their children," refueling at Azerbaijani stations while driving through Georgia. The same drivers in Armenia buy American Coca-Cola drink from Azerbaijan.

Paradoxically, six-month ban on the import of Turkish goods came into effect in Armenia at the beginning of the year, but there is no ban on Azerbaijani products. Moreover, the website of the Armenian Foreign Ministry posted a message about the right of Azerbaijani citizens to visit Armenia without a visa.

Despite the ban on everything Turkish, consumer goods and tomatoes of this country come to Armenia from Georgia, where in the Shulaver wholesale market; local traders resell Turkish goods from the Georgian market to the Armenian one. As a result of these operations, Turkey does not lose much from the Armenian embargo of the $ 250 million that the Turkish manufacturer earns annually in Armenia.

The State Revenue Committee of Armenia promises to strengthen customs control so that goods of Turkish origin (wherever they are imported from) do not cross the border. However, one might say that trust in the state and government messages after the military events is at zero. In addition, there are many ways to get around the restrictions.

For example, the correspondent of "Golos Armenii" (The voice of Armenia) did not hear much optimism from the owners of greenhouse farms in Armenia, who, in theory, should have rejoiced, since they finally seemed to get rid of hopeless competition with state-subsidized Turkish tomatoes, other vegetables, and fruit. In recent years, these agricultural products have been invariably and in large quantities imported to Armenia by heavy trucks in the months when it was time to sell similar products grown in local greenhouses. Armenian farmers lost their profits. Crates with Turkish vegetables and fruits, which invariably appear in the season at the wholesale agricultural fair in Meimandar (Armavir region), will easily be replaced by containers without Turkish inscriptions.

Because there is no formal embargo on Azerbaijani products in Armenia, Turkish tomatoes will come under the guise of Azerbaijani ones. There is experience of such cooperation between Turkish and Azerbaijani traders. As you know, during the ban on Turkish tomatoes in Russia, the same product labeled as “made in Azerbaijan” was imported into the Russian Federation.

Recently appeared a video showing a truck with Turkish license plates in Yerevan. The State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia explained that the restrictions imposed do not apply to Turkish trucks. "The truck with Turkish license plates, which may belong to an international cargo transportation company, may have contained goods from other countries - for example, from the Netherlands," said Lusine Mkrtchyan, head of the public relations department of the SRC.

Armenians have not been surprised for a long time by the Azerbaijani tea of ​​the well-known brand "Azerchay Bouquet" sold in Armenia and in the Armenian-populated regions of Karabakh. Armine Sukiasyan, press secretary of the State Food Safety Service of the Ministry of Agriculture of Armenia, reported that no goods were imported from Azerbaijan to Armenia, but did not rule out that some Azerbaijani goods could be delivered in bags. She did not exclude the version that “Azerchay” sold in stores in Yerevan is produced not in Azerbaijan, but in Kuban (Russia). There are other types of goods of Azerbaijani brands that are produced outside Azerbaijan and it turns out that, having become a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenians buy goods, the money for which is indirectly spent to pay for “Bayraktar.”

We talked about the transit of Azerbaijani goods to Armenia through Georgia, Russia, and possibly other countries, but direct export-import operations are possible. The Yerevan newspaper “Chorrord Ishkhanutiun” reported that imports from Azerbaijan to Armenia are visible in the 2014 report of the customs service of the Armenian Ministry of Finance. According to the ministry, goods worth $ 600 were imported directly from Azerbaijan. Presumably, it was a carpet. Carpets were also imported from Azerbaijan to Armenia in 2011, when the cost of 29.9 sq. m. of carpet was 8.5 thousand dollars,” the newspaper writes.

Armenian alcoholic drinks and cigarettes were  repeatedly found on the shelves of Azerbaijani shops (the state publicly destroys some of these goods), and Armenian-made shoes and consumer goods are sold without the “made in Armenia” label, so no one can recognize it among Iranian-Turkish goods.

The topic of Armenian exports to Azerbaijan was raised in Yerevan in early December. Hayk Gevorgyan, a deputy from Pashinyan's “My Step” party, stated that there is nothing wrong with selling Armenian goods in Azerbaijan.

Journalists asked him a question: "Is it correct that Azerbaijani goods will be sold in Armenia, while they were killing our soldiers?"

“I don’t know where you are going with such thinking,” the deputy replied, clutching his head. —0—