ANKARA: The Armenian government is considering a ban on the import of Turkish goods, economy minister Artsvik Minasayan told a parliamentary Q&A session, attended by Cabinet ministers today. Minasyan’s comments came in response to a question from an MP whether the government was considering a ban on import of Turkish goods, vacation travels to Turkey and direct flights between the countries, given the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as Ankara’s open support for Azerbaijan’s aggressive militaristic stance on the Karabakh conflict.
According to Minasyan, prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan has instructed his ministry to make a study on this issue with the focus on those Turkish products that threaten Armenian economy both in terms of quality and competition.
“Armenia and Turkey are both members of the WTO, but after Armenia’s accession, Ankara referred to Marrakech Agreement, and in fact it does not recognize Armenia as a member of the WTO, which allows us to fully use all the available tools to protect our economy,” Minasyan said.
According to him, Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) provides it also with a set of tools to ban imports of some goods to protect EEU markets. “However, we must clearly calculate all the questions, so as to avoid potential social damages. Soon we will present a clear program of actions for parliament’s consideration.” Minasyan said.
