Russian nationals in Armenia plan to extend their stay

YEREVAN, June 13. /ARKA/. Many of Russian nationals, who relocated to Armenia after the start of the Russian- Ukrainian military conflict, decided to prolong their stay in Armenia, according to Armenian Central Bank Chairman Martin Galstyan, who told a press conference today that this trend was backed by the findings of surveys.

"They (Russian nationals) most likely do not expect the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to be resolved quickly. Therefore, the number of respondents who expressed a desire to stay in Armenia for a longer period has slightly increased," he said, when asked by ARKA news agency to comment on the opinion of Alexei Kuznetsov, head of the Eurasian Development Bank’s Center for Country Analysis that the outflow of Russian nationals from Armenia could lead to a 5-10% decrease in its GDP.

Galstyan explained that one of the surveys was conducted during the first quarter of 2023, while the previous one was conducted last year.

"The dynamics is as follows: the proportion of those who expressed a desire to stay in Armenia for six months and longer has increased," he said.

Earlier Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said that as many as 110 thousand foreign nationals have immigrated to Armenia after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Armenia's government’s growth projection for 2023 is 7%. The Central Bank expects it to be 6.9%.-0-