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Delegation headed by Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Ara Babloyan on Wednesday met with Chairman of Russia’s State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin as part of a working visit to Russia. 

The Armenian parliamentary delegation includes MPs Hermine Naghdalyan, Artashes Geghamyan, and the National Assembly Chief of Staff-Secretary General Ara Saghatelyan. Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vardan Toghanyan also attended the meeting.

Speaker Babloyan thanked the Russian official for the warm reception, noting the visit will give a new impetus to the development of inter-parliamentary relations, the parliament’s press office told Panorama.am.

The head of the Armenian parliament welcomed the activity of Vyacheslav Volodin as CSTO PA Chairman aimed at increasing the role of the structure. The two officials also discussed the issue of holding the CSTO PA events in Yerevan and Saint Petersburg this year.

Touching upon the proposal of Russia to hold the Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries' Parliaments, Babloyan noted that this platform has already proved its vitality creating an opportunity of dialogue without obstacles. He reaffirmed the readiness of the Armenian side to hold the conference in Armenia in 2020.  

Speaking about the cooperation on the inter-parliamentary international platforms, Ara Babloyan highlighted a more coordinated cooperation based on the mutual support. In this context, the parliament speaker expressed his concern about the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), noting that the latter, moving from the essence of its economic activity, has been politicized. Meantime, the official highlighted the necessity of strengthening of mutually beneficial cooperation between the parliaments of the European and Asian countries.

Ara Babloyan informed that the Armenian parliamentarians will actively take part in the observation missions in the upcoming presidential elections in Russia within the framework of the CSTO PA and the IPA CIS.

Noting that the traditional partnership relations serve as a firm basis for further cooperation, the State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin stressed that the constructive dialogue between the two countries is at a high level, the parliamentary structures cooperate and the cultural and educational ties are being expanded.