Armenia cuts re-export of Russian gold exposed by The Insider’s investigation, bilateral trade down $3B in 2025

Armenia has significantly reduced its re-export of Russian gold — a trade previously detailed by The Insider in a November 2024 investigation — contributing to a $3 billion decline in bilateral trade with Russia since the beginning of this year. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, who spoke with the business publication Vedomosti, “the overall annual decline will evidently total $6 billion.”

Overchuk blamed the development on Armenia’s increasingly close ties with the European Union, claiming the diplomatic shift is “already having a colossal negative economic impact” on Yerevan’s relations with Moscow. He warned that Russian businesspeople are becoming increasingly cautious about doing business with Armenia. He also argued that the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the European Union are “incompatible,” asserting that Brussels “will not allow Yerevan to maintain normal relations with Russia.”

According to the deputy PM, Armenia has already simplified the issuance of conformity assessments for food products imported from outside the EAEU. “Because of this seemingly minor decision, Russia will need to assess the risks to its own market,” Overchuk said.

Between 2021 and 2024, trade between Russia and Armenia had grown nearly fivefold. However, according to Vedomosti, the spike in Armenian imports in 2022-2024 was largely driven by increased trade in Russian gold and other precious metals, which were then re-exported. Armenia has sharply scaled back these operations in 2025, leading to a major drop in its imports of Russian goods.

Last November, The Insider reported that Armenian firms were helping Russia bypass the Western embargo on gold trading. Since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Armenia had imported billions of dollars’ worth of Russian gold, much of which was subsequently exported to the UAE. These findings were detailed in a joint investigation by The Insider and Armenian outlet Hetq, titled Bullion bypass: How Russia circumvents sanctions to export billions of dollars worth of gold through Armenia.

In March 2025, Armenia’s parliament passed legislation initiating the process of joining the European Union. Russian officials have repeatedly criticized the Armenian government for pursuing closer integration with the EU.