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Following the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council held in Yerevan, the meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin took place on Wednesday, the Armenian government’s press office reported.

In his speech, Nikol Pashinyan particularly said,

“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

I welcome you in the Republic of Armenia, in our capital. Today we held a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, of course we did not manage to reach a consensus on all issues, 15 out of 17 decisions were adopted.

I hope that in this format we will manage to discuss the agenda of our bilateral relations, which is very full. It should be emphasized that our bilateral economic relations are developing at a high pace. I noticed that exports from Armenia to the Russian Federation increased by 80 percent this year. Of course, it is connected with some changes in logistics chains, but it is a fact that creates new opportunities for economic cooperation.

Of course, today we have already discussed and will still discuss regional issues, regional security issues. There are many issues, at the meeting of the Collective Security Council I spoke about the maintenance of the agreements reached by trilateral statements, which we adopted with your assistance and mediation with the president of Azerbaijan. These are very important issues, which of course we should discuss, as well as discuss the agenda, which we hope will bring long-lasting peace in our region."

In turn, Vladimir Putin said,

“Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

first of all, I would like to thank you for the invitation, and congratulate you on the completion of the successful chairmanship of the CSTO. Indeed, Armenia carried out that work at a very high level, vigorously. Of course, it is rarely possible to reach agreement on all issues, but overall, the work was very intensive and useful.

You also highlighted our bilateral relations, which are undoubtedly considered allied, have deep ancient roots, often there is no need to go into history, it is already clear to us what it is, what significance it has for our bilateral relations.

As for today, if last year commodity turnover increased by 12 percent, in the 9 months of the current year it has already increased by 67 percent. Yes, it's conditioned by today's particularities, but it will undoubtedly be the foundation for the future as well. There is no doubt here.

When we met, coming by car, we discussed issues of regional nature, including issues related to regional settlement, we talked about unblocking transport infrastructure. I am very happy that there is an opportunity to hold a bilateral meeting within the framework of today's events. Thank you for the invitation."