YEREVAN, MAY 19, NOYAN TAPAN. "Gazprom is a stable and long-term partner of Armenia," the RA president Serge Sargsian stated during the May 19 meeting with the chairman of Gazprom company Alexei Miller. According to a press release submitted by the RA president's press service, the sides noted with satisfaction that in recent years ArmRusgazprom has operated quite efficiently, and the gas consumption has grown in Armenia, which bears evidence of stable development of both this company and the Armenian economy. The increase in gas consumption by the population in recent years was pointed out as an important achievement. According to the president, thanks to large-scale work on gas network installation, Armenia has become one of the countries with the highest indices of gas network installation. During a discussion on the gas tariff and the price formation, A. Miller said that Gazprom envisages ensuring equal profitability for gas supplied both to Russia and abroad. The sides agreed to coordinate any change in the gas tariff step by step until 2011, taking into account Gazprom's 72% stake in ArmRusgazprom company, as well as to ensure predictability and accessibility for entities of the Republic of Armenia. The sides also spoke about negotiations on construction of an oil refinery and discussed the implementation of other investment program of Gazprom in Armenia's energy sector.

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