OREANDA-NEWS. On April 03-04, 2007 Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, paid an official visit to the Republic of Armenia, reported the press-centre of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The head of the Russian foreign affairs agency was received by President Robert Kocharian of the Republic of Armenia. He had talks with the Armenian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vartan Oskanian, and a conversation with Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II. Lavrov visited Yerevan State University and spoke to its faculty and students. There was also a meeting with compatriots living in the Republic.


During the talks, the sides exchanged views on the main thrusts in, and prospects for bilateral cooperation in various fields. By unanimous assessment, Moscow and Yerevan have approached a significant landmark of interaction, the 15th anniversary this year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Armenia and the tenth anniversary of the signing of the fundamental Russian-Armenian Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, with the results of joint work that instill optimism regarding the prospects of their allied partnership.  The growing dynamics of political dialogue, intensification of commercial and economic cooperation and noticeable progress of humanitarian and interregional ties was noted. In the center of attention was the implementation of the accords of the Russian and Armenian presidents reached during the summit in Sochi this past January.


Examination of international problems occupied an important place in the talks. The sides emphasized the high level of their interaction within the CIS and CSTO. They accentuated the mindset to streamline bilateral cooperation within universal and regional international organizations, primarily the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and also multilateral forums. The ministers stated the importance of continuing the agreed efforts in combating international terrorism and transfrontier organized crime and other contemporary challenges and threats. Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed the readiness of Russia to continue to take vigorous actions in the search of ways for Nagorno-Karabakh settlement under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group and on a bilateral basis. The mutual interest was expressed in further deepening the multifaceted and mutually advantageous Russian-Armenian partnership, which contributes to the development of the integration processes in the CIS space and acts as a weighty factor for the maintenance of peace and stability in the Caucasus.