The Most Important Component is the Opportunity for the Restoration of Trade and Economic Ties and Transport Routes in the Region – Putin

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in the Russian Federation for a working visit and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. The Prime Minister's press service has provided a transcript of the meeting.

Vladimir Putin: “Dear Nikol Vladimirovich, I am very happy to see you and receive you again in Moscow. Thank you for accepting the invitation, as we undoubtedly have many issues to discuss, both for building bilateral relations and, of course, for the very current and acute issue of resolving the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and its surroundings.”

“As for bilateral relations, I will not list them all and will not speak about the depth of our relationship, which indeed has a strategic nature. I will not enumerate all the international platforms where we cooperate. Nevertheless, I consider it important to remind that 40 percent of the capital investments in the Armenian economy come from Russian sources. We have considerable trade turnover. At the same time, due to various problems last year, but primarily, of course, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we experienced a certain decline. I am confident that in the near future we can not only restore that level but also move forward.”

“I see that the intergovernmental commission we have created is working actively on bilateral issues. You are actively supporting its activities, and our Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk regularly visits you in Yerevan. Just recently, he met with you and reported how he sees the trajectory of relations throughout the region. We have discussed this topic many times.”

“Of course, the most important component is the opportunity for the restoration of trade and economic ties and transport routes in the region, so that Armenia receives new opportunities for development. In my opinion, this is extremely important.”

“I hope we can discuss all these issues, as well as other questions related to the current situation and development prospects, with you today, both during our conversation and at the working lunch.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan: “Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, I am very happy to see you. First of all, allow me to thank you for inviting me to Moscow. Of course, we are in constant communication, but such meetings are very important for 'fine-tuning the hours.' We have agreed that we will have a busy agenda today, including discussions on strategic issues.”

“Of course, I want to emphasize that the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh is becoming an important factor for stability and security in the region. In this context, I hope to discuss with you your vision for building a security system in Nagorno-Karabakh, around it, in Armenia, and throughout the region.”

“Of course, we will discuss certain aspects related to the operations of the Armenian-Russian joint group of troops and the unified air defense system. Once again, I want to emphasize your personal contribution to ensuring stability in our region, especially after the war, following the signing of our joint statement with the President of Azerbaijan.”

“I also want to highlight that there is a very important issue in this context that has not yet been resolved: the problem of prisoners of war, hostages, and other detained persons. As we have discussed many times, according to the November 9 statement, all hostages, prisoners of war, and detained persons should be returned to their homeland, but unfortunately, we still have detained individuals in Azerbaijan. I am glad that we have no disagreement on the topic of resolving this issue.”

“It is also very important from our perspective to discuss the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as unfortunately, the problem is unresolved, and we need to talk about this issue as well and discuss what kind of vision we have for the future.”

“And of course, you already mentioned that economic cooperation issues are also very important for us, and I hope we will discuss issues related to strategic investments today. In this regard, I want to talk to you about the possibilities of constructing a new nuclear power plant in the Republic of Armenia.”

“We have been closely cooperating and continue to collaborate in combating the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, tomorrow we will receive the Russian vaccine against coronavirus. This is the first batch, which can be said to be a symbolic batch, but we hope to acquire a large batch of the Russian vaccine, as it has practically proven its effectiveness and it is very important for us for the Republic of Armenia to have the opportunity to acquire that vaccine.”

“Of course, we have a wide range of questions, and I hope and am confident that we will have very productive negotiations today.”

Vladimir Putin: “Of course, we will talk in detail about all these questions; we will address all the topics that you consider necessary for discussion, including the vaccine.”

Nikol Pashinyan: “Is the registration in Armenia already completed?”

Vladimir Putin: “Tomorrow it will be delivered to Armenia; indeed, there will be 15,000 doses, but we need more than a million. I understand that there is also great need in Russia.”

Vladimir Putin: “Our production is increasing and we are talking about quite a large batch. I think we will solve that problem.”

Nikol Pashinyan: “Thank you.”

Vladimir Putin: “Not to the detriment of Russian citizens. The volume of production meets the country's internal needs; not everyone wants to get vaccinated at once, but gradually more and more people want to be vaccinated. However, let me note that at the same time, production volumes have increased.”