Republic of Armenia National Assembly (RA NA) president Alen Simonyan on Friday received a delegation led by the speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Valentina Matvienko.

First, the RA NA speaker had a private conversation with his Russian colleague, which was followed by a meeting in expanded format, RA NA informs. Simonyan expressed his gratitude to Matvienko for her visit to Armenia, noting that such mutual visits are important in terms of the development of bilateral relations, particularly underscoring the fact that the visit takes place in the context of the 80th jubilee anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The speaker of the Federal Council of the Russian Federal Assembly, in turn, thanked the RA NA President for the warm reception.

The interlocutors discussed various issues, regarding the bilateral agenda—political and economic, as well as educational and cultural, emphasizing, in particular, the development of interparliamentary cooperation.

Special attention was attached also to regional developments. The RA NA speaker reaffirmed Armenia’s position on the establishing of lasting peace in the region, noting that Armenia is waiting for the Azerbaijani side to sign the peace agreement already agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly, for her part, underscored that Russia is a supporter of peace and stability in the region.

Alen Simonyan drew his Russian colleague’s attention to the issue of Armenian prisoners of war, illegally held, and missing persons in Azerbaijan.

Afterwards, the RA NA president and the speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly attended the official opening of the 39th Sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee between the Federal Assembly of Russia and the National Assembly of Armenia.

Also, Alen Simonyan and Valentina Matvienko toured the National Assembly building and the exhibition titled “The Road to Sanahin: The Story of an Orphanage,” the materials for which were provided by the Saint Petersburg Committee for Culture and the State Memorial Museum of the Leningrad Defense and Siege.