MOSCOW (Combined Sources) — Russian President Vladimir Putin received Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Kremlin on September 8.
The quickly-arranged meeting between Pashinyan and Putin came after a reported rise in tensions in Armenian-Russian relations over an investigation by the new Pashinyan government into events surrounding deadly 2008 post-election demonstrations.
Prosecutors have filed criminal charges against former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and current Collective Security Treaty Organization Chairman Yuri Khatchaturov, actions that the Kremlin has criticized.
Putin stressed the special nature of the Armenian-Russian relations.
“Today relations between Armenia and Russia are steadily developing in all directions. This refers to the field of political relations, military cooperation, security issues, economic cooperation,” Putin said.
He noted that “Russia confidently ranks first among the economic partners of the Republic of Armenia. “We are the largest investor in the Armenian economy, and we can affirm that in this respect our relations are rather diversified,” he said.