YEREVAN. - Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Thursday received Co-President of the Inter-parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the Armenian National Assembly and Russian Federal Assembly, Nikolay Ryzhkov, and committee members.

Welcoming the guests, the Prime Minister noted that it is a great honor to receive Nikolay Ryzhkov, who has put his input in the strengthening of friendship between the Armenian and Russian peoples. He highly appreciated the Armenian-Russian ally ties, adding that both countries have great potential for further expanding and deepening of cooperation in all directions, including on inter-parliamentary, intergovernmental and interregional platforms.

“We have good opportunities for making the Armenian-Russian relations exemplary. Friendship constantly strengthens if it is effective, honest and correct,” the Prime Minister said.

Nikolay Ryzhkov, for his part, thanked for the warm reception and wished Karapetyan good luck in the post of the Armenian Prime Minster. He stressed that Russia is interested in further developing ties with Armenia. In Ryzhkov’s words, during the inter-parliamentary committee held on Thursday, the cooperation in the area of tourism and culture was discussed among other issues. The Co-Chair noted that Armenia has a serious problem with advancing its economy, expressing readiness to help the Armenian partners in solving different issues.

Referring to the cooperation in the area of tourism, Karapetyan expressed hope that a decision will be adopted in the coming days, under which the Russian citizens will be allowed to visit Armenian with internal passports, this also contributing to fostering tourism. In this context, the importance of signing of an agreement between the Armenian and Russian governments aimed at the development of interregional cooperation was underscored.