YEREVAN. – Russia remains Armenia's largest partner, even in the face of declining trade. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated this during Thursday joint press conference in Yerevan with Acting Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian of Armenia.

According to Lavrov, due to the coronavirus pandemic, trade decreased by 9.6 percent last year and amounted to 2 billion 300 million US dollars.

The Russian FM noted, however, that there is no doubt that after overcoming the current epidemiological situation, the trade will grow rapidly.

At the same time, Lavrov expressed an opinion that once the agreements on unblocking economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus are implemented, they will enable to strengthen the Armenian-Russian ties and ties with other countries in the region.

In his turn, Armenian acting FM Ara Aivazian noted that the two parties want to reduce the current sharp decline in their trade.

According to him, the January 11 agreements have opened opportunities for diversification—and not only for Armenia, but for the region in general.