YEREVAN, October 4. /ARKA/. In 2016 the overall amount of remittances to Armenia will drop by another $140 million, finance minister Vardan Aramyan predicted today.

He said remittances to Armenia began to fall in 2014, triggered by the economic crisis in Russia, where from the bulk of remittances to Armenia come.

"As a result, remittances to Armenia in 2014 and 2015 decreased by $700 million, and if we consider the current situation and the expected economic slowdown in Russia, we anticipate that the remittances will drop further by $140 million,' Aramyan said.

According to the Central Bank of Armenia, remittances to Armenia in 2015 decreased by 30% to $1.2 billion. In the first 7 months of 2016 they stood at $768 million, by 11% less than in the same time span of 2015. -0-