RUSSIA, June 7 - The talks took place on the sidelines of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting.

Excerpts from the transcript:

Mikhail Mishustin: Mr Pashinyan, colleagues,

I am delighted to welcome you to Sochi, the Russian Federation. First of all, I would like to convey to you best wishes and greetings from President of Russia Vladimir Putin. I would also like to send my kindest and sincerest greetings to President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan.

We sincerely value our fraternal relations; they are of a strategic and allied nature. Today, trade, economic and investment cooperation between Russia and Armenia is growing dynamically despite the illegal economic sanctions imposed by a number of unfriendly states.

In January-April, mutual trade increased by 96 percent and has reached almost 140 billion roubles, or more than 660 billion Armenian drams, today. It is undoubtedly important to maintain this positive momentum to reach new record levels in mutual trade.

More than 4,500 Russian companies or companies with Russian capital successfully operate in Armenia. Let me emphasise that Russia’s accumulated investment exceeds 46 percent of the total foreign investment in the Armenian economy.

We need to use the existing opportunities to increase trade and investment. Our joint intergovernmental commission is working on this. Alexei Overchuk co-chairs it on the Russian side. Its work is regulated by the intergovernmental programme of economic cooperation until 2025.

I would like to thank you and Mr Grigoryan as well as all your colleagues for their active participation in the commission. We are constantly in contact, and we meet regularly. The growth of trade and economic turnover is also the result of the commission’s effective work.

We are interested in launching new joint projects in energy, mining, digital development, agriculture, and other industries. Russian companies are ready to offer advanced solutions such as e-government, smart and safe cities, and transport infrastructure. There is a range of projects for consideration.

More to be posted soon.