RUSSIA VALUES HISTORICALLY CLOSE TIES WITH ARMENIA, SAYS LAVROV

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 8, 2015 Wednesday 12:01 PM GMT+4

MOSCOW April 8.

Russia values historically, culturally and spiritually close ties with
Armenia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with
the Armenian counterpart, Edvard Nalbandyan, on Wednesday

“Armenia is our ally,” the foreign minister said. “These relations
have reached a qualitatively new level in view of Armenia’s joining
the Eurasian Economic Union,” he said.

“”We have agreed to continue updating the contractual and legal
framework,” he added. Lavrov said intergovernmental commissions
were working on trade, economic and military-technical cooperation,
emphasizing a need to boost these efforts.

Trade between Russia and Armenia develops fairly well, he said,
noting that it exceeded 1.4 billion dollars last year and kept growing.

“Cooperation develops well in the fuel-and-energy sector, in the sphere
of investment and in the banking sector,” the foreign minister said,
noting Russia’s plans of financial aid to extend the lifetime of the
operating power unit of the Armenian nuclear power station.

Nalbandyan, for his part, marked a high level of economic ties with
Russia, including military-technical cooperation. –0–zhe