Working visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to the Russian Federation

Today, the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan met in Moscow with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

The Presidents discussed issues related to the current cooperation of the two strategic partners and allies in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian areas, opportunities to further deepen bilateral relations and cooperation.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President of Russia thanked the President of Armenia for the visit and considering the fact that this was the first visit abroad of President Sargsyan after the elections, once again congratulated Serzh Sargsyan on his convincing victory in the elections. According to the President of the Russian Federation, almost 60 percent of the votes is an excellent result which testifies to the trust of the people and allows to implement all the programs which the President of Armenia had preset before the start of his pre-election campaign. “We have special relations with Armenia: it is a well-known fact in Armenia and in Russia. It should be noted that overall the relations are developing successfully despite some difficulties related to the global economy. Last year, we registered over 20 percent of increase in our turnover. I am pleased to note that Russia remains Armenia’s number one trade partner. Besides, we are also on the first place among Armenia’s foreign investors with over three billion dollars and the process is going on. We have major, promising, and good joint investment programs. I hope we will be able to discuss all that today. Our relations in the political area are also developing dynamically. We cooperate in almost every area and on every direction – in the interparliamentary, intergovernmental areas; political parties and non-governmental organization cooperate too. All this creates excellent prerequisites for the strengthening of our relations, and first of all among the peoples, in the humanitarian area. And with this regard, an important role is played by the diaspora organizations of the Armenians residing in the Russian Federation. As You know, there are many Armenians living here. They are law-abiding and efficient citizens and continue to maintain close relations with their historical motherland. It is, of course, an additional human factor which unites us. I am very glad to see You, welcome,” President Vladimir Putin said at the beginning of the meeting with the President of Armenia.

The President of Armenia thanked his counterpart for the invitation, congratulations and warm words. He also said that it was natural that after the elections his first visit abroad is being conducted to the Russian Federation and underscored that Russia is Armenia’s strategic partner and ally and that's all there is to it.

“Last year was an anniversary year for us: we were celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. In the process, we have accomplished a lot and achieved exceptional results in every area – political, economic, military areas, humanitarian and integration processes. Thus, we believe that results are good and have to be advanced further.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to express special thanks for good progress in the military area after our last meeting. The Ministers of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Chief of Staff have conducted visits to Armenia. The Armenian society has greatly appreciated the fact that the RF Minister of Defense visited our country on the Armenian Army Day. I agree with You that there is also progress in the economic area. Certainly, there are issues in this area but expect Russia’s assistance and support,” President Serzh Sargsyan said and reiterated his invitation to the President of the Russian Federation to conduct a state visit to Armenia.