In Relations with Armenia Russia Proceeds from the Statements of Nikol Pashinyan: Lavrov

• 06.08.2018, 18:10
•  EEU,  World,  Armenia

mid.ru

Against the background of discussions that after the change of power in Armenia the course of our country's foreign policy has changed, the first visit of RA Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to the Russian capital took place and became his first foreign visit, during which the foreign minister met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Recall that several weeks have passed after the first personal meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Sochi took place.

During the meeting Zohrab Mnatsakanyan noted that the Armenian government is committed to deepening and strengthening cooperation with Russia, this remains one of the priorities, and Yerevan is determined to develop cooperation with Moscow. He stressed that Armenia is determined to expand its cooperation with Russia in all areas, including within the framework of the EAEU and CSTO, RIA Novosti reports.

Sergey Lavrov in his turn noted that there is a dynamic political dialogue at the highest level between Russia and Armenia. The Russian Foreign Minister added that in relations with Armenia Russia proceeds from the statements of the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the alignment with Moscow, Tass reports.

It should be reminded that the issue of changing foreign policy vector in Armenia is not on the agenda and this has been previously claimed both by Nikol Pashinyan himself and the press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Tigran Balayan.

During the press conference held after the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries, Sergey Lavrov, referring to the issue of the recurrence of the Karabakh conflict, noted that the Russian position has remained unchanged, and it has always been for resolving the Karabakh issue through the OSCE Minsk Group, as the Minsk Group remains the optimal format in conflict resolution.

As known, earlier the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan confirmed readiness for negotiations with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, again stating that he insists on participation in the negotiation process of the Republic of Artsakh, in connection of which the RF Foreign Minister specified: "If the parties agree that Nagorno Karabakh will again be presented at the talks, this will be their decision, and we will respect this decision".

During the meeting the trade and economic cooperation between Armenia and Russia was also discussed. According to Lavrov, the membership of Russia and Armenia in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) promotes the growth of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

According to Lavrov, contacts between Russia and Armenia are developing along the parliamentary lines. He added that during the talks, they also discussed with his Armenian counterpart the implementation of fuel projects, as well as projects in the telecommunications and banking sectors.

Summing up the results of the meeting with his Armenian counterpart, the Russian Foreign Minister noted that "these were good negotiations, which were constructive, confidential, in the spirit of the allied relations and strategic cooperation." Lavrov expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the talks, which he believes will contribute to the further promotion of allied relations between Russia and Armenia. Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, in his turn, invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to pay a visit to Yerevan.