News - Papoyan: No Armenia brandy can be sold in Russia without Russian isotope lab testing

We have not received any official documents from the Russian side regarding Armenian brandy, Armenian economy minister Gevorg Papoyan told reporters Thursday. "I have to comment on the official documents; since there are none, I can't say. For us [i.e. Armenia], issues related to the quality of Armenian brandy are not just issues that should concern any country, including Russia. Armenian brandy is a brand, we are currently working within the framework of one of the EU programs to establish an Armenian [brandy] brand, which is very expensive for us. It will be very small minded if we limit our actions. In my opinion, starting from 2025, we should go in the following way. Unfortunately, we did not have an isotope laboratory in Armenia until then, we will try to create that capability during that time," noted the minister of economy of Armenia. When asked if there are political considerations because once Armenian-Russian relations are strained, such statements are made from Russia regarding Armenia’s businessmen, Papoyan responded: "Our economic policy is such that the quality of the goods produced in Armenia constantly increases and reaches a proper level. We will be able to sell products in all countries and no questions about quality will be raised; and if they do, we will show the results of the expertise obtained from international laboratories. I am the minister of economy [of Armenia], and I have to do everything to solve the problems I mentioned." Papoyan emphasized that a very large percentage of Armenian brandy is exported to Russia. "Now, all our brandies are subjected to isotopic laboratory testing, and this is done in Russia. No Armenian brandy can be sold in Russia without Russian isotope laboratory testing. We produce 2,000-dollar-worth brandy for the same Armenian and Russian market, and it is a national pride," said the minister of economy of Armenia. Recently, Russian agencies reported that almost 90 percent of Armenian brandies sold in Russia are not "safe," and almost half of them contain non-grape spirits.