Pashinyan and Putin Discuss Bilateral and Regional Issues During Their One-on-One Meeting in Yerevan

YEREVAN — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met separately on Wednesday after taking part in CSTO summit to discuss bilateral relations between their countries as well as regional issues.

During Their meeting Pashinyan raised the issue of honoring agreements that Armenia and Azerbaijan have reached through the Russian president’s mediation.

“These are very important issues, which, of course, we need to discuss, just as we need to discuss the agenda, which, we hope, will lead to a lasting peace in our region,” Pashinyan said.

Putin, as quoted by the Kremlin, highlighted the allied nature of Russian-Armenian relations that he said have “deep roots.”

He also said that issues of normalization in the region and unblocking of transport links was on the agenda of his meeting with Pashinyan.

“Of course, it is never possible, or perhaps very rarely possible, to reach agreements on all issues, but overall, our work was very intensive and useful,” Putin said, referring to Pashinyan’s refusal to sign the CSTO declaration on military aid to Armenia.

It marked a rare overseas trip for Putin, who has traveled abroad just a handful of times since launching a full-scale war against Ukraine in February. It was also Putin’s first visit to Armenia since the Karabakh war two years ago.