Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan yesterday met in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg for talks which their offices said touched upon a broad range of issues of mutual interest. In virtually identical short statements, the Kremlin and Sargsyan’s press service said they discussed Russian-Armenian cooperation in various area as well as “regional issues,” an apparent reference to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is known that during the meeting one of the main points of the agenda was the trade-economic cooperation, specifically in the sector of atomic energy. Among the questions of the political agenda was the CIS, Collective Security Pact, Evrazes as well as the NKR conflict. Medvedev is expected to host fresh talks between Sarkisian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi on March 5. After the meeting the Presidents didn’t make any statements. As a response to the questions of the journalists Dmitry Medvedev said, “The important thing is not what we are going to say but what we are going to do.” In another statement issued ahead of the talks, the Kremlin said economic issues will be high on the agenda the Russian and Armenian leaders. It said they will specifically discuss Russian involvement in Yerevan’s ambitious plans to build a new nuclear power station. Medvedev and Sargsyan were also expected to discuss the Russian Gazprom monopoly’s intention to further raise the price of its natural gas for Armenia this year. Armenian and Russian officials have been negotiating on the issue for the past few months. After the meeting the press secretary of the Armenian President Armen Arzumanyan said, “We are satisfied with the results of the meeting. During the Saint Petersburg meetings of Sargsyan an agreement was achieved about the price of the Russian gas. During 2011 the gas price won’t rise for the Armenian consumers. Moreover, for the socially vulnerable strata the gas price will decrease. The RA President has assigned to develop relevant mechanisms.” No other details of the meeting were publicized.
