Armenian Finance Minister: scenarios for opening border with Turkey and peace treaty with Azerbaijan being discussed, but not included in economic forecasts

YEREVAN, June 16. /ARКА/. Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan answered a question at a press conference on Monday about whether scenarios for opening the border with Turkey and a peace settlement with Azerbaijan are being discussed in the context of their impact on the Armenian economy.

"Discussions took place, including within the framework of studies conducted by the Security Council. But such scenarios are not included in the medium-term expenditure program, since there may be very large deviations," Hovhannisyan said.

According to him, the Armenian authorities are guided by two or three main scenarios. "Personally, I believe that this will happen, and not too late, but the speed and gradualness of the process will determine the level of its consequences," Hovhannisyan said, adding that due to the high level of uncertainty, possible events are not taken into account in economic forecasts.

According to him, there are several studies related to scenarios for changes in trade flows and their impact on the economy.

"This is not only a financial issue. There are general indicators of how this change in speed or management will affect GDP. Everything depends on what changes will occur after the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border," Hovhannisyan said.

In particular, according to him, much depends on how the investment situation in Armenia will change after the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border.

"Will goods be produced in Armenia that will be exported to Turkey or Azerbaijan, or vice versa? There are also questions that are difficult to answer at this stage," Hovhannisyan said, also emphasizing the political component.-0-