Russia values historically close ties with Armenia, says Lavrov

MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. 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. Read more