President Putin meets Catholicos of all Armenians

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 25, 2005 Friday

ECHMIADZIN, March 25 — President Vladimir Putin has met Catholicos
of All Armenians Garegin II on Friday.

“The Armenian Apostle Church is one of the oldest in the world,”
Putin noted. “I am happy to say that the Russian Orthodox Church
and the Armenian Apostle Church maintain very warm relations which
is an essential element in the development of interstate contacts,
the Russian president said at the meeting with the Catholicos.

“The Church makes a tangible contribution to the cause of peace in the
Caucasus and cooperation between the people,” Putin said. “Russia
approves these activities and will help as much as possible,”
Putin said.

The Russian president said he would be happy to meet the Catholicos in
Moscow. “I have no doubt that with your spiritual support it will take
much less time to settle all the problems than if they were tackled
by people vested with administrative power”, Putin told the Catholicos.

For his part, Garegin II declared that President Putin’s visit to
Echmiadzin was another evidence of age-long friendship between the
Russian and the Armenian people. “The churches of both states were
at the bottom of our friendship, and we are happy that the traditions
of age-long relations are being continued in all fields, imbuing the
people with faith and hope for the future,” the Catholicos said.