The meeting took place on the sidelines of a Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting.
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Mikhail Mishustin’s conversation with Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan
Excerpts from the
transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Mr Pashinyan, colleagues, I am delighted to see you in the Russian
Federation, in Kazan, the capital city of Tatarstan, for a meeting of the
Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.
First of all, I would
like to convey warms greetings and best regards from President of Russia
Vladimir Putin.
We value our
fraternal relations with Armenia, our allied and strategic relations that go
back decades. Next year we will celebrate 30 years of our diplomatic relations
and 25 years of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Armenia.
The measures
which the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia adopted after the
conclusion of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh on 9 November 2020 and 11 January
2021 offered broad opportunities for join activities. We should begin by
unblocking all economic and transport communications and creating new
infrastructure routes. This will create conditions for the sustainable
development of the South Caucasus.
Russia is
helping. We are providing extensive humanitarian assistance. The
Interdepartmental Humanitarian Response Centre is working to create conditions
for the return of refugees to their homes and the subsequent restoration of the
infrastructure.
Russia remains
the leading partner of Armenia. Our joint companies are implementing ambitious
economic projects. Regrettably, coronavirus had a negative effect on the
dynamic of our bilateral trade: last year it declined by approximately 10
percent to some $2.3 billion. This definitely not good enough. I propose
instructing our intergovernmental commission – the Russian co-chair is Alexei
Overchuk, who you know very well – to prepare new initiatives to increase trade
and mutual investment with Armenia.
We are also
working together energetically to put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have
sent test kits and reagents to Armenia, and now we are sending supplies of the
Sputnik V vaccine.
I would like to
thank you for using the Travelling without COVID-19 mobile application, created
by the Eurasian Development Bank, for trips by Armenian citizens to Russia. This
is a very positive trend. After all, we are simplifying the travel procedure for
our citizens to travel between our countries.
We are also working
together energetically within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. The
four freedoms – the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce – are
on our agenda. I am sure that the deepening of Eurasian integration is in the
best interests of people and businesses in Russia and Armenia.
Mr Pashinyan, I
am ready to discuss the relevant current issues, including our bilateral
agenda, with you. Please, go ahead.
Nikol
Pashinyan: Thank you very much, Mr Mishustin. Mr
Minnikhanov, colleagues,
I am very glad to meet with you today. This is my
first time in Tatarstan. We all know that this is one of the most significant
and developed regions of Russia.
I am sure that effective decisions will be made and meaningful
discussions will take place during our talks and today’s meeting of the EAEU
Intergovernmental Council.
As you have already said, our bilateral relations are making
good, steady progress. The strategic relationship between the Russian
Federation and Armenia is deepening. It is easy to see that our bilateral
relations have intensified, and this is a very good factor for the stability of
our region.
I would like to especially note the role that Russia
and Russian President Vladimir Putin played in ending the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
I want to emphasise that I see the Russian peacekeepers’ activities in
Nagorno-Karabakh as effective. It is already obvious to us now.
You rightly noted that our trilateral commission
headed by the deputy prime ministers of the Russian Federation, Armenia and
Azerbaijan is working. We have a very constructive attitude in this regard. But
I want to note that, unfortunately, Azerbaijan has not yet fulfilled a very
important article of the 9 November trilateral Statement by the President of
Russia, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan. This concerns
the return of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees. I would like to
thank the Russian Federation for the effort it is putting in to resolve this
issue.
We highly appreciate the work of the trilateral
commission, because the opening of regional transport corridors can change the
entire economic situation in our region in general.
