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One of Armenia’s key tasks is to ensure the stability of the dollar-dram exchange rate, Vahe Hakobyan, an MP from the opposition Hayastan bloc and head of the parliament’s Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, told a press briefing on Monday, referring to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on Armenia.

"According to some data, around 6,000 citizens of Russia and Ukraine arrive in Armenia daily and take mostly rubles with them. Thus, the primary task of the Armenian government is to prevent the capital outflow,” the deputy said.

In his words, the Ministry of Economy is now working on a strategy, according to which every foreign investor opening an account in Armenian banks must keep the money in Armenia for at least 6 months. “This is one of the restraining mechanisms," Hakobyan said.

The MP also pointed to the grain issue. Noting that Armenia mostly imports grain from Russia, he stated if the conflict drags on, Russia will cut off its supplies to other countries.

"During the cabinet meeting, a proposal was made for the owners of land plots of about 3,000 hectares to grow wheat. This is a somewhat amateurish approach, since not everywhere it can be sown and harvested," Hakobyan said.

Another Hayastan faction MP Tadevos Avetisyan said in turn that risks and economic impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Armenia are already visible.

"But there are also opportunities to increase Armenia's economic potential, create favorable conditions for investments and promote exports to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union," the MP said, stressing the government and the Central Bank should exert maximum effort to neutralize the economic risks.