Armenia willing to continue Karabakh talks in OSCE MG format

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia's President-elect, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan met with Russia's President-elect, First Deputy Chairman of RF Government Dmitry Medvedev, the RA government's press office reported.



Welcoming Serzh Sargsyan to the Kremlin, Dmitry Medvedev first of all congratulated him on the victory secured in the RA presidential election. By mentioning that this was Serzh Sargsyan's first visit to the Russian Federation in his new capacity, Mr. Medvedev expressed hope that the ever expanding Armenian-Russian relationship would be maintained during the Armenian president-elect's tenure of office and that the two countries would succeed in building on the existing multifaceted cooperation in different fields for the good of Armenia and Russia and to the benefit of the two peoples.





RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan thanked Dmitry Medvedev for a warm reception and reciprocated the congratulations on his convincing victory in Russia's successfully-held presidential elections of March 2, 2008. By stressing that Mr. Medvedev was known in Armenia as a skilled politician and statesman, Serzh Sargsyan expressed hope that following his assumption of the office of RF President, the cooperation between the two States would continue developing in the same spirit of strategic partnership.



Serzh Sargsyan reaffirmed his invitation to Dmitry Medvedev to visit Armenia at any convenient for him time. The invitation was accepted with gratitude. The RF President-elect said Armenia will be among the first countries to be visited following his entry upon the office as head of state.



Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry Medvedev discussed a broad spectrum of issues bearing on bilateral cooperation. They have referred to the post-electoral developments and the inner political situation in Armenia. RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan thanked the Russian authorities for their support, understanding and assistance in this difficult for Armenia time.



During the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry Medvedev touched upon regional questions and evoked the cooperation within the framework of various international organizations, inclusive of the CIS, the CSTO, the United Nations, the OSCE and others. The parties said to be pleased with the current level of the Armenian-Russian economic ties. It has been underscored that economic relations between the two countries were developing dynamically - with the Russian Federation firmly holding the first place among Armenia's trade and economic partners - which were largely promoted by the active work of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.



The Armenian and Russian presidents-elect have similarly spoken about the Karabakh peace process. Serzh Sargsyan emphasized that Armenia was prepared to continue negotiating within the framework of the OSCE Minsk group and assured that, as Armenia's president-elect, he stood ready to resume the talks with the Azerbaijani side.



Dmitry Medvedev invited Serzh Sargsyan to attend the June 6-8 economic forum in St Petersburg. The invitation was accepted with gratitude.



At the end of the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan thanked Dmitry Medvedev for constructive discussions and wished every success to the President-elect of the Russian Federation.