Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Vahagn Khachaturyan.
The meeting took place on the margins of SPIEF 2022.
"Armenia is not just our partner - we are a strategic ally, and we appreciate it. We understand everything that is happening today in Armenia, around Armenia. We are set to develop our partnership relations. We want the situation in the country to be stable, which will guarantee progressive development. I hope that our meeting today will contribute to that, too," Putin said.
Khachaturyan, in turn, noted that this is the first time he has participated in the St. Petersburg Forum: "But I have always been following it as an economist and as a specialist, and I have always estimated it highly for myself because the discussions here are always interesting in the economic sense.
And yesterday's discussion, which took place on the platforms, was also very interesting: the country's economic leaders - your advisor [presidential aide Mikhail Oreshkin], the Minister of Economics [Mikhail Reshetnikov], the Chairman of the Central Bank [Elvira Nabiullina]. As a specialist, I also wanted to understand how events would unfold, and my expert opinion coincided with what you were talking about today.
By the way, I've been following very closely, especially what I know about. Maybe a little bit in politics and diplomacy, but I have always been involved in the economic aspect, and I would like to say that I agree with your conclusions that you have drawn. In fact this is a new time. In fact, we should probably think about how to continue to develop in a new environment that offers new opportunities. And I agree, for example, with the conclusions made by the Head of the Central Bank: one should not think that this situation will change, that the sanctions will stop or will finish in the near future; one should just get used to it and prepare the economy for absolutely different trials."
The President of Armenia also expressed confidence that Russian economy will withstand, proceeding from the resources and opportunities it has and considering the two months that have passed: "The expectations, the predictions, which you also mentioned were made even by Russian specialists, financiers and economists, have not come true. It's also interesting what methods the Central Bank, the economic structures, the Ministry of Finance used to ensure that the ruble recovered, that inflation stopped, that development continued. Even now, the current, latest predictions of the International Monetary Fund have also changed towards the positive, that is, the assessments that were given. In that sense, I'm very happy. Thank you for inviting me here. I feel very well, the reception has been great."
Khachaturyan noted that the Armenian people appreciate Putin's efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: "I can tell you that what you did during the hostilities, your efforts through which the war stopped - this is also appreciated not only by me as an individual. I know that the Armenian population also appreciates it.
"I do not want to talk about our historical friendship because when you have a brotherly attitude, you do not say: good brother, bad brother. If you have a fraternal attitude, then you have a fraternal attitude. In fact, in philosophy it is everything: it is trust, it is sincerity, it is joint programs, joint actions, which must continue.I am sure that our further relations, of course, will develop. It is only necessary for the leadership of the country just to help, if there are any problems - just to eradicate these problems, to create normal conditions," he noted.
