A bilateral meeting was held in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, APA's Moscow correspondent reports.
Putin and Pashinyan delivered speeches during the protocol part of the meeting held at the Kremlin.
During his speech, the Russian President mentioned that he had a one-on-one meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister before their bilateral discussion, where they addressed current issues between the two countries. He emphasized that it is more appropriate to start discussions with economic matters. Putin noted that trade and economic cooperation between the two countries has developed quite successfully, stating that the trade turnover was $7.4 billion last year. He added that this figure has increased 2.5 times in the first six months of this year, surpassing $8.3 billion.
"If we continue at this pace, our trade turnover this year will reach $14-16 billion. This is a record figure," Putin stated.
In his remarks, Pashinyan stated that there has been an active political dialogue between Yerevan and Moscow in recent months. He noted that during Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's visit to Yerevan within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, substantial discussions took place on bilateral cooperation and the Armenia-Russia agenda.
"Today is a good opportunity to conclude these discussions," he said.
Putin also invited Pashinyan to hold another bilateral meeting at the upcoming BRICS summit in Kazan.