Anti-Russian sanctions will have both positive and negative implications for Armenia, economist says

YEREVAN, July 31. /ARKA/. The new round of US sanctions against Russia will have both positive and negative implications for Armenia, an Armenian economist Vilen Khachatryan said today. In his words, the sanctions can conditionally be divided into two parts - those that will benefit Armenia and those that will damage it. Khachatryan said when sanctions were first imposed against Russia, they helped it concentrate on domestic production, in particular, on agriculture. 

"The new round of anti-Russian sanctions is an opportunity for Armenia to concentrate on exports, first of all, of agricultural products to Russia, especially that most of our exports go to this country," Khachatryan stressed.

He, however, added that problems can arise when importing Russian products to Armenia. So, in his opinion, sanctions can lead to a reduction in the export of Russian products and to a rise in their prices. According to the economist, anti-Russian sanctions can negatively affect  Armenian labor migrants in the Russian Federation.

"When sanctions are applied,  the first to be sacked are  labor migrants. This is a common practice in the world. There are many Armenian labor migrants in Russia  and these processes can affect them," Khachatryan explained.

The economist also believes that the fall in oil prices, which damages the Russian economy, does not lead to a drop in fuel prices in Armenia, so Armenia does not  benefit from this factor.

According to  the director of the Analytical Center for Globalization and Regional Cooperation Stepan Grigoryan, anti-Russian sanctions will weaken the Russia -led Eurasian Economic Union and create economic problems for its member countries. -0-