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PUTIN AND SARKISIAN MEET IN MOSCOW
Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Vladimir Putin meet in Russia Tuesday
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Russia's
"special" relationship with Armenia and hailed his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sarkisian's "convincing" victory in last month's presidential
election during their fresh meeting held near Moscow on Tuesday.
The two men met in Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence for talks that were
expected to clarify the future of Russian-Armenian relations. They
made no public statements or sign any documents after the talks.
Their press offices said last week that they will discuss "development
of integration" processes in the former Soviet Union, an apparent
reference to Armenia's possible membership in the Customs Union of
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
They did not mention this issue in statements issued after the talks.
The Kremlin said only that Putin and Sarkisian discussed "pressing
issues of bilateral interaction." A separate statement by the Armenian
presidential press service said the two leaders talked about ways of
stepping up Russian-Armenian cooperation "in the political, economic
and humanitarian fields."
The two official sources also publicized Putin's and Sarkisian's
opening remarks at the meeting. "I want to again congratulate you on
the convincing [election] victory: more than 60 percent of the vote
is a very good result that testifies to popular trust and enables
you to implement all plans which you made when starting the election
campaign," Putin told the Armenian leader.
"We have special relations with Armenia," Putin said. "They know this
well in both Armenia and Russia. It must be said that on the whole
they are developing successfully despite certain difficulties in the
world economy."
Putin went on to praise a 20 percent rise in Russian-Armenian trade
last year and again emphasized the fact that his country has been
Armenia's leading foreign investor since the Soviet break-up. "We
have big, promising, good joint investment plans," he added.
Sarkisian, for his part, said it is only "natural" that he chose
Russia for his first trip abroad after reelection. "Russia is our
strategic partner and ally, and this pretty much says it all," he said.
Sarkisian thanked Putin for "good progress" in the close
Russian-Armenian military ties which he said has been made since their
last meeting in December. He pointed to recent visits to Armenia by
Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and top military commander,
General Valery Gerasimov.
"I agree with you in that there is also progress in the economy. Of
course there are issues here but we hope for Russia's support and
assistance," Sarkisian added without elaborating.
The meeting continued behind the closed doors.
http://asbarez.com/108742/putin-and-sarkisian-meet-in-moscow/
Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Vladimir Putin meet in Russia Tuesday
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Russia's
"special" relationship with Armenia and hailed his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sarkisian's "convincing" victory in last month's presidential
election during their fresh meeting held near Moscow on Tuesday.
The two men met in Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence for talks that were
expected to clarify the future of Russian-Armenian relations. They
made no public statements or sign any documents after the talks.
Their press offices said last week that they will discuss "development
of integration" processes in the former Soviet Union, an apparent
reference to Armenia's possible membership in the Customs Union of
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
They did not mention this issue in statements issued after the talks.
The Kremlin said only that Putin and Sarkisian discussed "pressing
issues of bilateral interaction." A separate statement by the Armenian
presidential press service said the two leaders talked about ways of
stepping up Russian-Armenian cooperation "in the political, economic
and humanitarian fields."
The two official sources also publicized Putin's and Sarkisian's
opening remarks at the meeting. "I want to again congratulate you on
the convincing [election] victory: more than 60 percent of the vote
is a very good result that testifies to popular trust and enables
you to implement all plans which you made when starting the election
campaign," Putin told the Armenian leader.
"We have special relations with Armenia," Putin said. "They know this
well in both Armenia and Russia. It must be said that on the whole
they are developing successfully despite certain difficulties in the
world economy."
Putin went on to praise a 20 percent rise in Russian-Armenian trade
last year and again emphasized the fact that his country has been
Armenia's leading foreign investor since the Soviet break-up. "We
have big, promising, good joint investment plans," he added.
Sarkisian, for his part, said it is only "natural" that he chose
Russia for his first trip abroad after reelection. "Russia is our
strategic partner and ally, and this pretty much says it all," he said.
Sarkisian thanked Putin for "good progress" in the close
Russian-Armenian military ties which he said has been made since their
last meeting in December. He pointed to recent visits to Armenia by
Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and top military commander,
General Valery Gerasimov.
"I agree with you in that there is also progress in the economy. Of
course there are issues here but we hope for Russia's support and
assistance," Sarkisian added without elaborating.
The meeting continued behind the closed doors.
http://asbarez.com/108742/putin-and-sarkisian-meet-in-moscow/