ArmInfo. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian assesses Armenian-Russian relations as a constant.
So, speaking in an interview with the "Zvezda" TV channel, speaking about the Armenian-Russian relations, he said in particular: "I estimated, estimate and will estimate them as a constant in the future. They are permanent; they never change, because we are historically brothers and friends "Friends in Arms, Friends in Destiny, Friends in Religion. I rate them as a constant value that cannot change over time. It is part of our entire culture, history, philosophy, past, present and future."
Answering a question about the readiness of Russian business to invest in Armenia, Sarkissian assured that it was not for him to express the opinion of Russian business. "What I can comment on is that Russian business has been operating in Armenia for many years. And it works fundamentally. There are investments from different countries, there are investments from Europe, and from the Far East, and from the Middle East, and from America. But Russian business has always existed, and in a sense, we very often did not notice or could not endure these investments, as if they were internal. Moreover, not only purely Russian companies, but also Russian companies, where Armenians participate by nationality, have invested in Armenia. These investments are very large, I think that in the future there will be a lot of them, "said the Armenian President.
Referring to the visit in the near future to Moscow, Sarkissian noted that in the near future he does not plan to visit the Russian capital with an official visit, although he often happens there.
It should be noted that Russia occupies a leading position in the statistics of foreign trade turnover, as well as of general and direct investments in Armenia.
Thus, according to the National Statistics Committee, in 2018 foreign trade turnover between Armenia and Russia amounted to $ 1.9 billion with y-o-y growth of 11.2%. At the same time, exports amounted to $ 666.5 million with an increase of 19.6%, and imports - $ 1.3 billion with y-o-y growth of 7.2%.
According to the same commission, in 2018, total Russian investments in the Armenian economy amounted to $ 970 million, with y-o-y growth of 23.5%, while FDI amounted to $ 417.8 million with y-o-y growth of 31.7%.