September 19, 2018 - 17:13 AMT
Armenia ex-President describes relationship with Putin as 'chemistry'

Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has described his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin as "chemistry that can't always be explained."

"We cooperated during the eight years of my presidency and that of Vladimir Putin. We had an absolutely honest relationship," Kocharyan said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

"We kept in touch all the time after my tenure. I have never attempted to capitalize on them (the contacts - Ed.).

"I have great respect for him, I feel that he has a similar attitude towards me. We respect each other, respect the work we have done together to advance the Russian-Armenian relations. Our meetings and discussions were never confined to the situation in Armenia, we touched on a much wider range of issues."

Speaking about the nature of his friendship with Putin, Kocharyan said it is "chemistry that can't be always explained".

"I do not think that there is a certain separate factor, it is the sum of factors that overlap and create emotional synergy between people. And this becomes a kind of cementing compound for these relations," the former Armenian President was quoted as saying.

Days earlier, Putin called Kocharyan to congratulate him on his birthday.