Russia arranging Matviyenko`s visit to Armenia - Lavrov

ArmInfo. The Russian side is currently working on arranging the visit of Valentina Matviyenko, the Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, to Armenia. This was stated on January 21 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after discussions with  Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow.  According to  him, Moscow expects that the 10th Armenian-Russian interregional  forum will be timed to coincide with this visit.

According to him, today there is a need for intensified dialogue  between the foreign policy departments of Armenia and Russia. "And I  will definitely take advantage of the invitation confirmed by Ararat  Samvelovich today - to visit Yerevan. We will also resume and  maintain regular dialogue at the deputy minister level of foreign  affairs agencies. We have agreed to prepare another two-year plan for  inter-MFA consultations. We also discussed the possibility of mutual  expansion of consular presence, including in the Syunik region of  Armenia," Lavrov noted that this is a strategically important region.  According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the expansion  of diplomatic missions and an increase in their number serves the  interests of both countries.

"At the same time, we are, of course, interested in ensuring that our  relations are not  negatively affected by extra-regional players who  don not support the strengthening of Russian-Armenian alliance," the  Russian diplomat said, emphasizing Moscow's commitment to all  agreements with Yerevan, including in the military-political sphere.  According to Lavrov, the meeting also addressed the significance of  the South Caucasus in advancing security objectives across the  Eurasian continent.

In the context of the upcoming festive events commemorating the 80th  anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian  minister noted that Moscow is looking forward to the participation of  Armenian partners in celebrations.  Lavrov highlighted that the  meeting also discussed the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani  relations. In this regard, Moscow reaffirmed its willingness to  support Yerevan and Baku in all aspects of this normalization  process, including the development of provisions for a peace treaty.

"We have confirmed interest in the continued operation of the  regional consultative platform "3+3" (which includes Russia, Iran,  Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia). We believe this platform  holds great promise," Lavrov concluded.