The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, will be in Russia on February 21-23 on an official visit at the invitation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. On February 22, the ministers will meet to discuss bilateral cooperation and a broad range of international and regional political issues.

Russia and Armenia have similar or identical views on international and regional issues. They maintain close ties at the level of their foreign ministries and coordinate their positions at the UN, EAEU, CSTO, CIS, OSCE, BSEC and other international associations and organisations.

This visit will be a logical next step in the f intense Russian-Armenian dialogue aimed at further strengthening political, trade, economic and cultural cooperation.

On April 3, 2017, Russia and Armenia will mark 25 years since the establishment of their diplomatic relations. Russian-Armenian relations are based on the principles sealed in the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance signed on August 29, 1997, and the Declaration on Allied Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia in the 21st Century, signed on September 26, 2000.

Russian-Armenian dialogue is developing dynamically at the top level. In 2016,  President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan held three full scale meetings – in Moscow on March 10 and August 10 during the Armenian President’s visits to Russia, and in St Petersburg on June 20 on the sideslines of the trilateral summit meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh. The presidents of Russia and Armenia participated in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 31, a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on September 16, a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 14, and the summit meetings of the EAEU and CSTO member countries in St Petersburg on December 26. 

The governments of Russia and Armenia are strengthening constructive cooperation. In 2016, Russian and Armenian prime ministers met during Dmitry Medvedev’s official visit to Yerevan on April 7, on the sidelines of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meetings in Moscow on April 13, Yerevan on May 20 and Sochi on August 12, and at a meeting of the CIS Heads of Government Council in Bishkek on June 7. On October 27, Dmitry Medvedev met with his Armenian counterpart, Karen Karapetyan, during multilateral EAEU and CIS meetings in Minsk, Belarus. Karen Karapetyan attended a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Moscow on November 16, 2016, and was in Russia on an official visit on January 24-25, 2017. During their meeting, Dmitry Medvedev and Karen Karapetyan discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation and interaction within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). They signed several intergovernmental and interagency documents.

Sergey Lavrov went to Armenia on an official visit on April 21-22, 2016, during which he met with President Serzh Sargsyan and held in-depth discussions with Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. On March 10, 2016, the Russian and Armenian foreign ministers approved a plan for consultations between their ministries for 2016-2017. On July 3-4, 2016, Sergey Lavrov went to Yerevan for a meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers, where he met with the Armenian President. On October 14, 2016, Sergey Lavrov attended a joint meeting of the CSTO’s Council of Foreign Ministers, Council of Defence Ministers and Committee of Security Council Secretaries in Yerevan. On January 19, 2017, Sergey Lavrov and Edward Nalbandian met in Moscow.

In 2016, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, Healthcare Minister Veronika Skvortsova, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, Head of the Federal Agency for State Reserves (Rosrezerv) Dmitry Gogin and Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov visited Armenia. On February 10-12, 2017, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov was in Yerevan for talks with the Armenian authorities.

Inter-parliamentary ties are expanding. Valentina Matviyenko visited Armenia in November 2015. On March 11, 2016, Sergey Naryshkin attended an offsite meeting of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Council. In 2016, the Russian-Armenian Inter-Parliamentary Commission met on June 2-4 in Moscow and Kazan and on November 10-11 in Yerevan. The next meeting will be held in Khanty-Mansiysk on June 7-9, 2017.

In 2016, Yerevan hosted joint meetings of the Federation Council Committee for Defence and Security and the Armenian National Assembly’s  Standing Commission on Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs (April 14-16), the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs and the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Commission on Foreign Ties (November 19-20), the State Duma  Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots and the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Commission on Foreign Ties (December 22-23).

Russia is Armenia’s leading economic partner (accounting for 24.3 per cent of its foreign trade). The growth trend in bilateral trade has continued in 2017, including by virtue of Armenian agricultural supplies to Russia. Between January and October 2016, trade exceeded $1 billion ($1.24 billion in 2015).

The Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation operates effectively. Its 17th meeting was held in St Petersburg on July 7-8, 2016. Yerevan hosted the previous meeting on June 25-26, 2015.

The accumulated Russian investments in the Armenian economy account for 40 per cent of all foreign investment (first place). The republic is home to nearly 1,300 businesses with Russian shareholdings (about a third of all joint ventures), including major Russian companies like Gazprom, Rosatom, Russian Railways, GeoProMining Gold, VTB Bank, and RUSAL.

Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in January 2015 gave a powerful impetus to bilateral ties. Former Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan chairs the Collegium of the Eurasian Economic Commission since February 1, 2016.

Cultural and humanitarian contacts are traditionally of importance in Russian-Armenian relations. Days of Russia in Armenia, Russian Cinema Week, and Days of Moscow and St Petersburg were a great success in 2016. On December 12-16, 2016, Armenia played host to the 9th Days of the Russian Language. In 2015,  Lomonosov Moscow State University launched its branch in Yerevan. There are plans to open a Russian grammar school in the Armenian capital. The Russian-Armenian (Slav) University and eight branches of Russian institutions of higher learning are attended by a total of 3,500 students.

Interregional cooperation involving nearly 70 Russian regions and almost all of Armenia’s administrative and territorial entities has been developing actively. On October 14, 2016, Yerevan hosted the 5th Russian-Armenian Interregional Forum attended by over 450 representatives of the authorities, business circles, NGO’s and media from Russia and Armenia.

The two countries cooperate closely in the military and military-technical area and in border protection. Russia’s 102 Military Base and the Russian Federal Security Service’s (FSB) Border Directorate are deployed in Armenia. On September 12-16, 2016, Rostov-on-Don hosted a meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation. Russian defence enterprises took an active part in the 1st ArmHiTec International Exhibition of Armaments and Defence Technologies. On November 30, 2016, an interstate agreement on the Joint Grouping of Troops (Forces) of the Armed Forces of Russia and Armenia was signed in Moscow during an official visit by Armenian Defence Minister Vighen Sargsyan.

Jointly with the other co-chairs (the US and France) of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia is playing an active intermediary role in efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. At Russia’s initiative, a meeting of the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement was held in St Petersburg on June 20, 2016.