Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today received RF Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

To begin with, the Prime Minister pointed out that it was the Russian Security Council Secretary’s first visit following political changes in Armenia, which was a good opportunity to reflect over the Armenian-Russian allied relations in this format.

Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the strategic cooperation between Armenia and Russia is on the rise as underpinned by a constructive working atmosphere which is fostered by his frequent meetings with the Russian President and Premier, as well as by other high-level contacts. The Premier attached importance to cooperation between the Security Councils of Armenia and Russia against the background of developing Armenian-Russian strategic ties. The head of the Armenian government said joint efforts should be made to ensure regional and international security and stability.

Conveying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s greetings to Nikol Pashinyan, Mr. Patrushev said he was happy to visit Armenia and to meet with Prime Minister Pashinyan and his Armenian counterpart Armen Grigoryan. He described as quite productive the consultations held with Armen Grigoryan, noting that they had discussed issues of cooperation in the security sector, including the interaction in bilateral and multilateral formats as part of international organizations.

Nikolai Patrushev advised that the CIS Security Council Secretaries were to meet this November, and as always, Armenia had confirmed its participation.

The Prime Minister of Armenia and the Russian Security Council Secretary exchanged views over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process, highlighting the need to maintain the military balance and ensure stability in the region. The parties took the opportunity to discuss developments and challenges related to regional and international security.