MEDVEDEV MEETS WITH ARMENIA PRESIDENT

Interfax
APril 21 2010
Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with his visiting Armenian
counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, on Tuesday.

Medvedev suggested that he and Sargsyan discuss bilateral relations and
regional and international problems. "The fact that we do this with
enviable frequency and regularly is very important for strengthening
confidence and mutual understanding that exists between our countries,
and for strengthening the spirit of strategic partnership," the
Russian leader said.

Sargsyan thanked Medvedev for inviting him to Moscow and suggested
that they raise the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as well.

He also said the Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission is
working intensively and expressed gratitude to Russia for opening a
scientific innovation center in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

Sargsyan said his government and the Russian Embassy in Yerevan are
"doing intensive work to restore a memorial to Russian Army officers
killed in the Armenian-Turkish war."

He also thanked Medvedev for a loan of $500 million extended to Armenia
last year. "It is now that we have begun to feel its positive effects,"
the Armenian president said. One of these effects was that Armenia’s
economy grew by 5.5% at the end of the first quarter of 2010, he said.