Within the framework of the official visit to the Russian Federation, the meeting between the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin is taking place at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow.
Welcoming Prime Minister Pashinyan, the Russian President said, “Dear Nikol Vladimirovich, I am very glad to see you.
Your visit is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. I know you have a very expanded schedule - meetings with the Prime Minister, the leadership of the Federal Assembly, and then a visit to Nizhny Novgorod. It is also planned to sign a number of documents.
We have a rich base of 200 documents in our legal relations signed in previous years. This gives a good opportunity to work in practically all directions, one of the priorities is the economy. In 2021, we had a 12.8 percent increase, according to our statistics, and a 50 percent increase in the first months of this year. This is a very good indicator, especially in today’s world.
Of course, we will focus on security issues, including those related to Karabakh. I agree with you, there are many issues, we are in constant contact, if not every week, then we talk on the phone every 10 days. Despite the pandemic, we have regular meetings. I'm glad to see you, welcome."
For his part, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, “Thank you Vladimir Vladimirovich, first of all, let me thank you for inviting me to pay an official visit to the Russian Federation.
As you said, this visit has not only practical, but also symbolic significance, because it is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, it shows that the relations between our countries are at a very high level. I hope that as a result of this visit, this dynamic will not only continue, but will become more effective.
We are really in constant contact, we meet very often, we always speak on phone, because the agenda of our bilateral relations is very saturated, practically in all spheres, starting from the economy, ending with culture, education, military-technical cooperation. Russia is Armenia's strategic partner, we effectively cooperate in the Eurasian Economic Union, the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization. It is no secret for anyone that Russia has a key role in ensuring security and stability in our region.
I want to once again emphasize your key role in establishing a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Since then, the Russian peacekeepers have been operating in Nagorno-Karabakh and it should be noted that, in general, of course, security in Nagorno Karabakh is provided by the activities of the Russian peacekeepers and it seems that we need to look at what can be done to make the activities of the peacekeepers more effective.
Of course, the main political issue in our region is the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, I hope we will talk about that today as well. Indeed, my visit has a very saturated agenda, much of which is related to these negotiations. I am confident we will be able to hold fruitful negotiations, thank you, I am very glad to see you."
Summing up, Vladimir Putin said. "You mentioned our cooperation in the field of culture. On the occasion of your visit and the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, Days of Armenian Culture are held, and Days of Russian Spiritual Culture are held in Armenia. I think this will also be in our attention during this meeting."
In the sidelines of the official visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia to the Russian Federation, the following documents were signed:
"Memorandum on Cooperation in the social-labor sphere between the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation",
“Cooperation Programme for 2022-2023 between the Compulsory Enforcement Service of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Bailiff Service of the Russian Federation",
"Armenian-Russian comprehensive program of cooperation in the field of energy and non-energy projects",
“Protocol on integration of information systems in the field of plant quarantine between the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control of the Russian Federation and the Food Safety Inspectorate of the Republic of Armenia",
“Cultural cooperation program between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, Sports of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation for 2022-2025”,
"Cooperation program between the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for 2022-2023”,
“Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Field of Information Security”.
