Russia's economic assistance is much bigger than all of American and European grants given to Armenia, the Russian President's Special Representative for International and Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy said during a meeting with Armenian MPs on Monday.
"We regard Armenia as a strategic partner and provide it with serious benefits under economic, energy, military-technical and other projects. At least, it pays much less than our other partners do. Of course, direct $1mln in the form of a grant is more visible than indirect Russian 100mln but in the long run the latter have a much bigger effect on the solvency of Armenian citizens and their lives. This money helps Armenians to use their budget differently," Shvydkoy said.
He believes that Armenia and Russia must intensify their cultural and educational exchange. "I am glad to see that in the last 3-4 years the number of Russian tourists visiting Armenia has grown. I agree that people in Russia, especially, young ones have little idea about Armenia as we have few programs telling them about life in Armenia, Georgi, Azerbaijan and even Ukraine. So, we must discover each other once again," Shvydkoy said.
He hates the "person from the Caucasus" expression. "This is an absolutely stupid expression. There are great Caucasian nations. They all are great and very different," Shvydkoy said.