RUSSIA-ARMENIA TRADE KEEPS GROWING – AMBASSADOR

Itar-Tass News Agency, Russia
March 14 2007

Russian Ambassador to Armenia Nikolai Pavlov said on Wednesday that
Russian-Armenian trade kept growing despite certain difficulties in
economic ties.

"Although Russian-Armenian economic cooperation is facing certain
difficulties connected with transport communication, the amount of
bilateral trade keeps growing," the ambassador said.

Last year trade between the two countries amounted to 426 million
dollars, without taking into consideration Russian gas supplies,
against 350 million dollars in 2005, Pavlov stressed.

Russian investments in the Armenian economy keep growing, the diplomat
added. He cited as an example the activity in Armenia of the Russian
Gazprom gas giant, the Unified Energy Systems of Russia national
power utility, the Armenal plant and Vneshtorgbank.

Recently one more major Russian company, Vympelkom, entered the market
of Armenian telecommunication services.

The ambassador admitted, however, that problems also persist in
relations between the two former Soviet republics. They concern,
in particular, the implementation of an agreement on handing over to
Russia property of five Armenian enterprises to settle the inter-state
debt.

The activity of the inter-governmental commission for economic
cooperation is aimed to solve such problems. The latest meeting of
its co-chairmen was held in Moscow on March 5.

The ambassador said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would visit
Armenia on April 3 to 4. The aim of his visit is "to confirm Russia’s
commitment to a course of strategic partnership with Armenia," the
top Russian diplomat stressed.