ArmInfo.The Kremlin press service presented details of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The meeting took place in the representative office of the Kremlin's first building.
As reported by the Russian presidential press service, in his address to the Armenian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin thanked Nikol Pashinyan for accepting the invitation to participate in an international event dedicated to the nuclear industry.
"This is natural, since Armenia has had a nuclear power plant for a long time, which, as you yourself stated at the forum, provides 30% of the country's electricity. This is a significant figure, 30%-a third of all electricity-is generated by the nuclear power plant. Rosatom is currently working to extend the life of this nuclear power plant.
Therefore, your presence at the forum is, of course, entirely logical," the Russian leader emphasized.
Overall, he noted, relations between the two countries are developing well. "Almost $11 billion-I think that's 34% of the Republic's foreign trade turnover. Armenia's trade turnover with Russia, according to our statistics, is $11.7 billion. This is a record figure for 2024. Relations are developing in all other areas as well. We always have something to discuss, even though we only saw each other recently. Nevertheless, we are very glad to see you in Moscow. Welcome again," Vladimir Putin said.
In turn, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, expressing gratitude for the invitation, noted that today the forum participants learned a lot about nuclear technologies. "Of course, the role of nuclear energy in the world is growing; in a global context, it is already considered a form of green energy. Indeed, nuclear energy is very important for our country. You correctly noted that we are closely cooperating with the Russian Federation and working to extend the life of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant until 2036. We are currently working and searching for small modular nuclear power projects that are suitable for Armenia. And, of course, we are also very actively engaged in dialogue with the Russian Federation on this issue. We are very effectively cooperating with the Rosatom corporation. In general, our relations are indeed developing systematically. You also noted mutual trade. True, there has been a slight decline this year, which is due to certain global processes, but I think there is a need to work on this topic so that our mutual trade continues to grow at the pace we have planned for 2023 and 2024. And, of course, the agenda in our relations is very rich, and "We always have a lot to discuss," the head of the Armenian state emphasized.