Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with several dozens of members of the Armenian Lawyers Association in Moscow, as reported the Government of Armenia.

Pashinyan touched upon the results of his talks with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and stated that they discussed all the issues and subtleties of the agenda during the three-and-a-half-hour meeting. Pashinyan added that, in general, he is very content with the results of the meeting and that they touched upon all the issues, including global and regional issues.

“The meeting was fruitful. We didn’t sign a document, but we talked about a number of documents, including documents on security and further implementation of previously signed documents. There is an agreement on the Armenian-Russian joint contingent and an agreement over the general system of air defense in the region,” he said, adding that the reforms in the Armenian army are being made with the support of Armenia’s partners in the Russian Federation and that this was one of the major issues discussed during the meeting.

“Of course, we also talked about the return of Armenian prisoners of war and the agenda of regional communication links. I consider the discussion very fruitful. The agenda is so broad that I might miss something, but one thing is clear — the nature of Armenian-Russian relations is strategic, and it is necessary to further deepen the strategic cooperation, taking into consideration the current challenges and the current situation at the same time,” Pashinyan said.

In response to a question about the return of captives, Pashinyan underscored the need for full implementation of point 8 stated in the trilateral statement signed on November 9, 2020 according to which “prisoners of war, hostages and other persons being kept and the bodies of deceased are being exchanged”. The head of government stressed that he and President Vladimir Putin fully understand the ensuring of return of captives and that both of them have agreed to work more intensively with respect to the return of the captives.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister answered several questions from the participants of the meeting that concerned the war unleashed against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the situation created after the war, the assistance that the Government of Armenia is providing to the Armenians of Artsakh affected by the war, the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the situation in the region, the domestic political situation in Armenia, the upcoming parliamentary elections, the opportunities for full use of the potential of the Armenian Diaspora in the context of laying the institutional foundations for that, etc.