Presidents of Russia and Armenia to discuss bilateral relations

YEREVAN, March 12. /ARKA/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will on Tuesday hold a bilateral meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan who is in Russia on a visit, Novosti-Armenia reports referring to Russia’s RIA Novosti.

“During the talks, the sides will discuss further development of Russian-Armenian relations, regional problems and prospects to deepen interaction in the CIS,” the Kremlin reported.

According to the source, Armenia is a traditional priority partner for Russia. The Russian-Armenian relations were broadly discussed on August 8, 2012 in Moscow during the visit of Armenia’s President.

The two states cooperate through governments, ministries and different departments. In 2012 Prime Ministers of Russia and Armenia, Dmitry Medvedev and Tigran Sargsyan, met at the conference of the Council of CIS Heads in Yalta, September 28. Different high officials, including Transport Minister of Russia Maxim Sokolov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, and others visited Armenia last and this year. 

“The visits of Valentina Matvienko and Sergey Naryshkin (July 2012) were really important for establishing contacts with the newly elected parliament of Armenia ( 6 May 2012) and ensuring continuity in the development of interparliamentary dialogue,” according to the source.

RIA Novosti stated the two countries’ trade in 2012 grew 22.3 percent on the previous year to $1.2 billion.

Russian investments account for over 50% of all investments in the Armenian economy ( since 1991 over 3 billion dollars). The further cooperation will be 

fostered in the frames of a long-term economic collaboration program valid till 2020. 

The largest investment projects are construction of the fifth power bloc at Hrazdan TPP (by Gazprom), purchase of the first and exploitation of the second segment of “Iran-Armenia” gas pipeline; takeover of Armsberbank by VTB; and more.

The projects “South Caucasus Railway” (Iran-Armenia, 316 km) and South High Speed Road (110) are targeted at solving the transport issues of Armenia. They will become a part of international “North-South” corridor- the shortest route between the ports of the Black Sea and the Persian Gulf. 

Moscow and Yerevan also actively cooperate in integration processes. In December 2012 Moscow hosted the first meeting of the joint commission which was to evaluate the prospects of cooperation between Armenia and the Customs Union, Single Economic Space. 

The two countries also cooperate in humanitarian sphere. A number of events, such as Golden Apricot film festival, “Russian book house in Armenia” and others were organized in Armenia last year. 

Youth organizations are also active in establishing close ties. The young people from both countries participate in such youth events as Seliger, Young Eurasia (Tsakhkadzor, Armenia, 22-27 August 2012), etc.. From 20 February to 31 March Armenia will be hosting the XIII International School Russian Language Olympiad.  -0-