Putin, Armenian leaders agree to strengthen ties
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Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenia's Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed on Thursday to expand cooperation in various areas.
During talks with Pashinyan in Moscow, Putin called Russia-Armenia ties "truly allied relations filled with substantial content," according to a Kremlin transcript, Xinhua reported.
Putin said bilateral trade grew 29.7 per cent last year and asked both sides to maintain the good dynamics in trade as well as in security, cooperation within the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union.
"I am sure that the dynamics of our relations will continue. And I hope that it will develop further," Pashinyan said.
In an October visit to Yerevan, US National Security Adviser John Bolton demanded that Armenia abandon the "historical patterns" in its international relations.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Bolton was referring to Armenia's traditional friendship with Russia and accused him of driving a wedge between the two former Soviet allies.
