Azerbaijani NGOs accuse Armenia of helping Russia evade Western sanctions
- 24 September, 08:52
A group of Azerbaijani NGOs have published a statement accusing Armenia of aiding Russia evade Western-imposed sanctions over Ukraine.
In an open letter addressing officials responsible for imposing sanctions on Russia, the NGOs accused the Armenian authorities of violating the requirements of international law by pursuing “a hypocritical policy and deepening the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine by supporting Russia to avoid sanctions.”
"We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of Azerbaijan, appeal to you to express our serious concern about the activities of the Republic of Armenia, which enabled Russia to evade the international sanctions imposed in connection with the Ukrainian war,” the statement reads.
Referring to first Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk speaking at the meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation between Russia and Armenia, the NGOs stressed that the foreign trade turnover between the two countries will reach 14-16 billion US dollars in 2024. If the overall forecast comes true, in 2024 the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and the Russian Federation will increase up to 8 times compared to 2020.
“In 2023, our mutual trade grew by 55.8%, up to $7.4 billion. This year, the growth has accelerated. Over the first six months alone, bilateral trade accounted for $8.4 billion. We may well reach the $14 billion–$16 billion mark by the end of the year. In 2020, it was $2.3 billion,” said Overchuk at the time.
