The Federation Council Speaker met with Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko and Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan discussed prospects for inter-parliamentary collaboration.
The Federation Council Speaker noted that the MPs of both countries remained in sustained contact and added that President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan were keynoting this collaboration.
According to Valentina Matvienko, Armenia is a natural strategic partner of Russia. “We are interested in strengthening centuries-old traditions of friendship. This meets the interests of our peoples and states and makes a substantial contribution to building a peaceful and prosperous South Caucasus.”
The Head of the Federation Council noted that Russia was reaffirming the status of Armenia’s reliable trade and economic and investment partner by real deeds. She drew attention to the special role of parliaments in addressing contentious issues.
Alen Simonyan said that the National Assembly of Armenia was interested in dialogue and expanded long-term mutually beneficial cooperation across all spheres.
The officials praised the activities of the Commission for Interparliamentary Cooperation that helps strengthen dialogue between legislators and overall interstate relations.
Deputy Federation Council Speaker – Co-Chair of the Russian Section of the Interparliamentary Commission for Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Yury Vorobyov, briefed the officials on the commission’s work over the past five years and discussed its upcoming regular meeting, due to be held in Sochi.
The officials discussed progress in addressing neglected issues regarding draft agreements in the field of inter-regional and inter-municipal cooperation.
The meeting participants also touched upon initiatives aiming to expand cultural and humanitarian ties, cultural and educational collaboration. They also touched upon the regional agenda.
Attending the meeting were Deputy Federation Council Speaker Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security Vladimir Bulavin, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova and Member of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Andrei Chernyshev.
Speaking with journalists, Valentina Matvienko called the meeting constructive. “I thanked Alen Simonyan for taking an active part in the work of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. This is an important and effective platform for interparliamentary collaboration between CIS countries,” she said.
The Federation Council Speaker said Russian MPs were ready to take part in monitoring the parliamentary election in Armenia. “We will certainlytake part, if we are invited by the Armenian side,” Valentina Matvienko added.