Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with his Armenian counterpart, Tigran Sarkisyan
"I'd like to inform you that we have practically finished work on a $500 million loan to Armenia. We are fulfilling our agreements. All that remains to be done is to have the budget approved by the State Duma, our parliament."
Transcript of the start of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, I'm very pleased to see you.
Quite recently, we had an opportunity to talk with the Armenian President at the Davos forum, and the Intergovernmental Commission is working well. We maintain permanent contacts at practically all levels. I'm very pleased to note that despite the difficulties, our trade grew by 10% last year, and we are carrying out promising projects in the electric power industry and transportation. We also have some current issues to discuss.
We are very glad to see you. Welcome.
Tigran Sarkisyan: Mr Putin, thank you for this opportunity to meet and discuss the implementation of all joint projects.
Today, we met the co-chairman of the Intergovernmental Commission, and went through the entire agenda. We discussed all issues of mutual interest, and I'm pleased to note that we reached agreement on all of them. I hope we have reached a complete and mutual understanding. We also appreciate the work done by our colleagues.
Vladimir Putin: Our trade has reached almost a billion roubles - 900 billion, to be exact. Russian investment in the Armenian economy is 1.800 million roubles. We are one of the leaders in that respect. In general, the process is going well.
I'd like to inform you that we have practically finished work on a $500 million loan to Armenia. We are fulfilling our agreements. All that remains to be done is to have the budget approved by the State Duma, our parliament. I hope this will be done very soon. We will adjust the budget, because the granting of the loan is also linked with this task, and carry out our plans to support the Armenian economy.
Tigran Sarkisyan: Mr Putin, first of all, I'd like to thank you for this support. This is a very impressive sum for us. We are convinced that, with this financial aid, we'll be able to overcome the negative consequences of the global crisis. I'm sure that this money will also help us to create a favourable macroeconomic environment for the thousands of companies with Russian capital effectively operating on Armenian territory.
