ARMENIAN PREMIER DISCUSSES COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA’S IVANOV

Arminfo
11 Apr 07

Yerevan, 11 April: Cooperation in the transport sector is the most
painful issue in Armenian-Russian relations, Armenian Prime Minister
Serzh Sargsyan said in Yerevan today during his talks with Russian
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov.

The Armenian government’s press service said that Ivanov congratulated
Sargsyan on his appointment as Armenia’s prime minister, expressing
confidence that Armenian-Russian relations will continue to further
develop. For his part, Sargsyan pointed out that Ivanov’s current
visit will become an additional impetus for further expansion of
bilateral cooperation in various sectors.

[Passage omitted: parties further praised bilateral cooperation]

Sargsyan said that relations between Armenia and Russia develop
dynamically in political and economic spheres, but the transport
issue remains the most painful one. He expressed his satisfaction with
the operation of the ferry service between [Russian port] Kavkaz and
[Georgian port] Poti. Sargsyan also talked about the re-opening of the
Armenian companies handed over to Russia under the "equity-for-debt"
deal, saying that Armenia is ready to create necessary conditions
for settling the issue. Ivanov noted the need to find commercially
viable solutions.

The parties also discussed issues related to cooperation in sectors
like energy, nuclear energy, transport, telecommunications and
military-technical cooperation.