PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR PUTIN AND HIS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART TIGRAN SARGSYAN MADE STATEMENTS FOR PRESS

States News Service
December 5, 2008 Friday

The following information was released by the government of the
Russian Federation:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, friends and
colleagues.

I would like to greet our Armenian friends and colleagues once
again. This is the first visit by Tigran Sargsyan as Prime Minister. We
welcome him.

Before sharing my opinion with you on the talks we had, I would like
to speak about one important subject.

The day after tomorrow, December 7, we will observe a mournful date
– 20 years since the devastating earthquake of 1988. This dreadful
disaster was a tragedy for all peoples in the U.S.S.R.

We are mourning the tens of thousands of people who perished during
those painful days. We remember the heroic exploits and selfless work
of volunteers from all Soviet regions who came to Armenia’s rescue. The
day after tomorrow, a monument devoted to the earthquake’s victims and
rescue teams’ exploits will be unveiled in Gyumri, former Leninakan.

The monument was built on the initiative of the Russian public and
on voluntary donations. This is evidence of the durable friendship
between the Russian and Armenian people.

Today, we discussed all aspects of our cooperation in all
areas. Naturally, we focused on economic cooperation.

This year, experts have registered dynamic development of bilateral
trade and economic contacts. Trade is steadily going up; this year,
it has increased by almost 17%.

Russian investments are promoting the Armenian economic upsurge. They
have already exceeded $1.6 billion.

We consider the expansion of big Russian companies like Gazprom,
INTER RAO UES, Russian Railways, and some banks, the VTB Bank, for
instance, in Armenia to be quite useful.

We have good prospects for joint projects in the fuel and energy
sector, non-ferrous metallurgy, transportation, construction, banking,
and information technologies.

The Russian-Armenian Intergovernmental Commission is working to
further promote bilateral economic contacts. During the talks, we
expressed satisfaction with its performance.

At the same time, we understand quite well that the achieved results
are far from reaching the limits of our potentialities, and will
continue to further develop our cooperation.

We have exchanged opinions on joint steps in trade and the economy,
and talked about the problems linked with the global financial crisis,
issues that affect our two countries in various ways.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the Russian side is
satisfied with the course of today’s talks. They are not over yet. At
this time, Mr Prime Minister and I will have an extended meeting with
a number of Russian colleagues. We will talk about some aspects of
our cooperation in more detail.

Thank you for your attention.

Tigran Sargsyan: Good afternoon, Mr Putin and other colleagues.

First of all, I would like to express my condolences in connection with
the death of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Alexy II. This
is sad news not only for Russians, but also for Armenians. We have
always had warm feelings for the Patriarch, and were aware of his
attention. During his patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church
developed very warm relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church. I’m
confident that all Armenians are mourning the Patriarch’s death
together with the Russian people.

I’d like to thank Mr. Putin for finding time for negotiations despite
such a sad event.

Our relations boil down to a strategic partnership. Obviously, now
that the global economy is going through the financial and economic
crisis, consultations and meetings are very important for our country,
because we need to coordinate our actions. In this case, it will be
easier for us to overcome the current economic hardships.

As Mr Putin noted, our economic relations are developing
dynamically. We highly appreciate the performance of the
Intergovernmental Commission. From this perspective, this has
been a rather successful year for our cooperation. All energy and
infrastructure projects have made steady headway. This year is
special because our economic contacts and partnership have expanded
substantially, going beyond such traditional spheres as energy and
infrastructure. There is not a single sphere of human endeavor where
we do not have joint projects.

Today, more than a thousand Russian companies are actively expanding
their operation in Armenia, and our goal is to create favourable
conditions for their effective work. On the whole, we are satisfied
with our economic relations, and hope that new agreements will help
us overcome the current economic hardships.

Thank you.