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In the context of a continued drop in oil prices, non-oil-rich Armenia has found itself in a favorable situation, economist Mesrop Arakelyan told Panorama.am. 

Yet, the falling oil prices may have an adverse impact on the Armenian economy because of its dependence on Russia, the expert noted.

“The drop in oil prices has been a major factor resulting in serious problems in Russia in the last two years. The situation this year will be complicated further by an already forecast fall. It is not ruled out that a few years later the situation in Russia could spin out of control, just as it happened in the early 1990s and 1998,” Arakelyan said.

In this connection he underlined the need to diversify foreign economic relations as much as possible, mainly by reducing the dependence on remittances and creating opportunities for citizens to earn income in Armenia.