ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Jan 24 2007
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S REGULAR VISIT TO RUSSIA EVIDENCE OF ACTIVE
TOP-LEVEL DIALOGUE
YEREVANA, January 24. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan’s regular
visit to Russia is evidence of an active top-level dialogue.
The press service of the RF Embassy in Armenia reports that the
Armenian leader’s visit is supposed to raise the level of
Russian-Armenian strategic partnership, strengthen bilateral
cooperation in the most importance spheres, using the potential
created by the Year of Armenia in Russia and the Year of Russia in
Armenia.
"Armenian-Russian relations are described as allied relations and are
distinguished by positive dynamics of development. Regular contacts
between the two countries’ Presidents have become practice and are
distinguished by mutual confidence," says the report.
The sides are to discuss the most urgent issues or bilateral
cooperation and prospects for development. The sides are to discuss
the execution of top-level agreements on further development of
Armenian-Russian cooperation, particularly in the fuel, energy and
transport sphere.
The Armenian and Russian Presidents plan to exchange views on
deepening cooperation with the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) and reforming the CIS.
The sides will focus their attention on coordination of efforts to
improve the situation in the Caucasus, create an atmosphere of
confidence in the region, establish cooperation and settle conflicts
on this basis.
The sides will lay emphasis on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem.
"Russia welcomes further Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue at various
levels, first of al between the two countries’ Presidents. We proceed
from the principle that the conflicting parties themselves must find
a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict. We are ready to
render most active assistance both in the bilateral aspect and as
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair and become guarantor of a prospective
agreement," says the Embassy’s report.
This year will see the 15th anniversary of fruitful multipronged
cooperation between Armenia and Russia, which has a solid basis – an
Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, Declaration on
Armenian-Russian Cooperation oriented at the 21st century.
RF President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Armenia in March 2005 and RA
President Robert Kocharyan’s visit to Russia in January, August and
October 2006 were significant stages of consolidating the strategic
partnership and intensifying bilateral cooperation. P.T. -0–