YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. Russia highly appreciates Armenia’s aspirations conditioned by its chairmanship in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin told reporters during today’s press conference in Yerevan.

“Russian highly appreciated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow in early 2019 aimed at introducing Armenia’s chairmanship priorities in the Union. And we see the aspiration of the Armenian chairmanship to worthily spend the current year. The evidence of this is the recent EAEU inter-governmental council’s session held in Yerevan. As you know, a decision was made to hold the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Yerevan on October 1, at the heads of state level. Of course, we are waiting for the Russian President’s visit on this occasion”, the Ambassador said.

He also attached importance to the Armenian parliamentary hearings on the EAEU which launched on June 10.

“Yesterday the first parliamentary hearings on the EAEU integration issues launched. A substantive discussion was held between the Cabinet members, the ambassadors of the EAEU member states and that of China, experts, public sector representatives, in other words between those people who deal with Armenia’s integration in the EAEU. I want to state that leaders of our countries regularly communicate on the sidelines of the joint events of our common integration unions”, Sergei Kopyrkin said.

The Russian Ambassador added that Russia remains Armenia’s main foreign trade partner.

“According to the data of 2018 the trade turnover between our countries increased 11%, reaching almost 2 billion USD which comprises more than 27% of Armenia’s domestic trade. This is a great figure”, he said.

Armenia assumed the EAEU chairmanship in 2019.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan