home
news
economy
business
cultural
banks
energy
political
subscribe
|
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT'S FORTHCOMING OFFICIAL VISIT TO ARMENIA WILL BE
FIRST ALL-IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS ESTABLISHMENT OF STRATEGIC RELATIONS
BETWEEN TWO COUNTRY'S ECONOMIES
Below is an exclusive interview of Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian to the "ARMINFO" news agency.
Q. What will be the effect of Russian President Vladimir Putin's
first official visit to Armenia on the Armenian-Russian relations?
Oskanian: The forthcoming visit is of paramount importance to us.
Considering the fact that the Armenian-Russian relations are on the
level of strategic partnership, the Russian president's official
visit to Armenia is in itself of importance to our relations. The
visit and the range of issues that are to be discussed are a
testimony to the fact that the bilateral political relations are at a
very high level.
The second peculiarity of the forthcoming visit is that a day before
Vladimir Putin's official visit, Russian Defense Minister Sergey
Ivanov is to arrive in Armenia. It testifies to the fact that the
issues of security are principal in the Armenian-Russian cooperation.
The visit will also bring to a higher-quality level both our
relations with Russia and the cooperation in the collective security
sphere.
The third aspect of the visit, which is perhaps the most important
for us, is the deepening of economic relations between Armenia and
Russia and their raising to the level of our relations in the
political and security spheres. As regards Vladimir Putin's
forthcoming visit, our attention will be focused on economic issues.
The Russian president will be accompanied by a large group of
businessmen, and the documents that the sides will sign on the
results of the visit will be the first all-important step towards the
establishment of strategic relations between the economies of Armenia
and Russia.
It is in this context that the Russian president's forthcoming visit
to Armenia should be considered. I hope that the visit will be
successful in all the three aspects - the politico-military
cooperation, discussion of political issues, and prospects of
developing the Armenian-Russian economic relations.
Q. Will the Karabakh problem be touched upon during the visit?
Oskanian: The discussion of prospects of the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be one of the most important issues of
the agenda of Vladimir Putin's visit. There are still many issues
which need discussing. It especially concerns the current stage of
settlement, as Russia is an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair for Nagorny
Karabakh and an active participant in the negotiations. I am sure
that serious consultations have to be held in this sphere, and that
discussions of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem by the Armenian and
Russian presidents will have a positive impact on the settlement
process.
Q. During Vladimir Putin's visit a number of enterprises of Armenia's
military-industrial complex will be transferred to Russia against
Armenia's national debt. How much does the transfer of these
enterprises to Russia meet Armenia's geostrategical interests?
Oskanian: The question should not be put in such an unequivocal
way. The matter concerns not the transfer of Armenia's entire
military-industrial complex, but the establishment of joint ventures
on the basis of individual enterprises of the complex. This issue
should first of all be considered in the context of integration of
the two countries' economies. All the actions of the Armenian
authorities will be carried out in Armenia's national interests.
Q. What are Your expectations of the results of the Russian
president's visit to Armenia?
Oskanian:We hope that the visit will give rise to a new dynamics of
development of the bilateral relations. The agreements that will be
signed on the results of the visit will give a new impetus to the
development of relations between our countries and to the
trade-economic cooperation between Armenia and Russia.
13 October
Arman Tarjimanian, ARMINFO
|
