YEREVAN, February 9. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Central Bank has to spend from $1 billion to $1.5 billion a year to shore up the exchange rate of the national currency, the dram, ex-prime Hrant Bagratyan said today.

Speaking at a news conference Bagratyan, who is now an MP from the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC), said the regulator’s currency interventions are increasing the country’s external debt, ‘which has already reached $5.4 billion.

‘The only explanation for these interventions is that the government is reluctant to raise the price of natural gas, which is fixed in US dollars," said Bagratyan.

According to the former prime minister, the problem can be solved by establishing fixed exchange rate of USD in gas agreements. Bagratyan noted also that most of the loans raised by the government and the bulk of transfers are channeled into maintaining the dram.

According to the Central Bank of Armenia, since the beginning of 2016 the Armenian national currency depreciated by 2% to 494.63 drams per one US Dollar. In 2015, despite some volatility in the currency market, the Armenian dram appeared to be the most stable currency across the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union losing only 14% of its value.

According to the official data, Armenia's foreign debt over the last 5 years –from 2010 December to 2015 December- increased by 30% to $4.309.5 billion. In 2015 it increased by 13.8% over the previous year. -0-