ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN TRADE TURNOVER GROWING

ArmRadio.am
16.08.2006 19:20

The Russian and Armenian presidents agreed that trade between the two
countries is growing and expressed their hope for good prospects in
bilateral relations, Interfax Russian news agency reported.

"Trade turnover is growing, and I am sure there are good prospects
for this grow and a desire of the business community to develop
relations of partnership," Russian President Vladimir Putin said
at a meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharian in the run-up
to the opening of an informal Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC)
summit in Sochi on Tuesday.

The Armenian president also pointed to growth in mutual trade turnover,
but emphasized that "it would be difficult to achieve good quality
without resolving the problems of communication and transportation."

Kocharian proposed that the two countries focus on the "investment
component" and mentioned a project in which the Russian aluminum giant
Rusal was involved and which had been announced in Sochi two years ago.

The presidents also expressed their willingness to discuss difficult
problems facing Armenia. "As for the well-known complex problems in
the region, I believe we will have time to talk about them as well,"
Putin said.