Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan received the Chair of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matviyenko, who arrived in Yerevan on an official visit heading a parliamentary delegation.
The meeting began with a private conversation between the two speakers, followed by an expanded-format discussion involving members of both delegations.
Welcoming his Russian counterpart, Simonyan expressed his appreciation for her visit, noting that such reciprocal high-level interactions are essential for strengthening Armenian-Russian relations. He emphasized the symbolic significance of the visit, which is taking place in the context of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Chair Matviyenko, in turn, thanked Simonyan for the warm hospitality and reaffirmed the importance of deepening ties between the two parliaments.
The sides discussed a broad range of issues on the bilateral agenda, including political dialogue, economic cooperation, educational and cultural exchanges. Special emphasis was placed on the development of interparliamentary cooperation.
They also addressed regional developments. Speaker Simonyan reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus, stressing that Armenia is ready to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan and is awaiting Baku’s readiness to finalize the already-agreed document. Matviyenko reiterated Russia’s support for peace and stability in the region.
Simonyan also drew attention to the humanitarian issues concerning Armenian prisoners of war and civilians illegally held in Azerbaijan, as well as individuals still considered missing.
Later in the day, the two parliamentary leaders attended the official opening of the 39th session of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the National Assembly of Armenia and the Federation Council of Russia.
Following the session, Simonyan and Matviyenko toured the National Assembly building and attended the opening of an exhibition titled “The Road to Sanahin: The Story of an Orphanage.” The exhibition features materials provided by the Committee for Culture of Saint Petersburg and the State Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad.
