Moscow (AsiaNews) – Russia’s economic ties with the countries of the South Caucasus remain among the most significant in the region, but their nature varies considerably. Whilst Russia plays a key role in one country’s foreign trade, for another, remittances or tourist flows are more important, as analyst Anastasia Žalina points out in Vestnik Kavkaza. It is impossible to assess the extent of economic interaction based on a single indicator: foreign trade reflects the scale of trade, remittances reflect the level of economic ties, and tourism reflects the intensity of mutual travel between countries.
According to data from 2025, Russia accounted for 10 per cent of Azerbaijan’s total foreign trade turnover (US$48.9 billion), becoming the country’s third-largest trading partner after Italy and Turkey. Russia’s share of Azerbaijani imports stood at 15.3 per cent, maintaining its position as the second-largest supplier after China. The Russian market is particularly important for Azerbaijan’s non-oil exports, which accounted for 32.4 per cent of the total in 2025. Whilst the majority of oil and gas exports are destined for European markets, the Russian market remains crucial for agricultural products – primarily tomatoes and apples – as well as for a range of industrial goods.
Russia also retains its status as Armenia’s main trading partner, but the dynamics of bilateral trade have changed significantly compared with the figures for 2024. After reaching a record high of $12.4 billion, trade between Russia and Armenia returned to more normal levels, standing at $7.8 billion by the end of 2025, a decrease of 37.2 per cent. The main reason for this decline was the reduction in re-exports of Russian gold and precious stones, which had previously transited through Armenia to third-party markets, primarily the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, Russia retains a key position in Armenia’s foreign trade, and supplies of energy resources, food and other goods within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) continue to play a significant role in the republic’s economy.
In 2025, Georgia’s trade volume reached $25.8 billion, of which $7.3 billion came from exports and $18.5 billion from imports. Russia ranked third among destinations for Georgian exports, with a volume of $749.3 million (10.3 per cent). Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, however, ranked higher in terms of exports, mainly due to the large-scale re-export of motor vehicles. Traditional products – wine, mineral water and agricultural produce – remain the main components of exports to Russia. At the same time, Russia remains one of the largest suppliers of fuel and wheat to the Georgian market.
Consequently, Russia’s importance to the foreign trade of the South Caucasus countries varies considerably. Azerbaijan is characterised by relatively stable remittance flows, underpinned by long-standing economic ties and labour migration. By the end of 2025, the total volume of remittances received stood at 1.177 billion dollars, of which 479 million dollars came from Russia. In Georgia, remittances are falling from historic highs, having reached record levels in previous years, whilst for Armenia, Russia remains the main source of remittances from abroad.
Tourism remains one of the most significant sectors of Russia’s economic interaction with the countries of the South Caucasus. In 2025, Russian citizens once again constituted the largest group of foreign visitors in all three countries in the region, continuing to play a significant role in the tourism and services sectors. Of these, Armenia remains the country with the highest proportion of Russian tourists: in 2025, nearly one million Russian citizens visited the country, accounting for 40.7 per cent of the total number of foreign visitors.
