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Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan: Mr Putin,

I would like to welcome you in the Republic of Armenia, in our capital.

Today, we held a meeting of the  Background information Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) CSTO Collective Security Council. Of course, we did not reach consensus on all issues, but adopted most decisions – 15 of 17.

I hope in this format we will manage to discuss the agenda of our bilateral relations, which is very full.

I must note that our bilateral economic ties are making rapid headway. I noted that this year Armenian exports to the Russian Federation grew by 80 percent. Of course, this is linked with certain changes in logistics chains but this is still a fact that creates new opportunities for economic cooperation.

Welcome, once again.

And, of course, we have already discussed today and will discuss regional issues, issues of regional security. There are many questions and I spoke about this at the Collective Security Council meeting. They deal with observance of the trilateral agreements, statements that we adopted with the President of Azerbaijan with your assistance and mediation. These are very important issues and we must certainly discuss them. We must discuss the agenda that, we hope, will lead to durable peace in our region.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Pashinyan,

First, I would like to thank you for your invitation, and to congratulate you on a successful CSTO chairmanship, nearly its successful completion.

Indeed, Armenia was actively engaged in this work at a very high level. Of course, it is probably never or very rarely possible to come to terms on all issues, but overall, the work was very intensive and useful.

You also spoke about our bilateral relations that are certainly allied and have roots that go deep into ancient times. There is no need now to go into this history – we already know what it is and how important it is for our bilateral relations.

As for today, indeed, our trade increased by 12 percent last year and by 67 percent in the first nine months of this year. Yes, this is partly due to the situation today, but it will certainly be a good contribution to the future, we have no doubt about that.

When we met, while still in the car, we discussed regional issues, including regional settlement issues and the unblocking of transport arteries.

I am glad that we have an opportunity to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of today’s events.

Thank you very much for your invitation.

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