Epress.am News from Armenia
On the eve of August 19, a state banquet was held in Yerevan on behalf of RA President Serzh Sargsyan and his wife, Rita Sargsyan, in honor of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his wife, Svetlana Medvedeva, during which time the two presidents exchanged toasts.
“This is a significant visit. The essence of the concept of a state visit symbolizes the highest level of relations that can exist between two states. And this visit is the best possibility for observing the dynamics of our relations, the conclusion of certain efforts and the planning of new aims for our mutual allied cooperation,” said the RA President.
“We are proud of the long-standing friendship and strong ties between our peoples, [and] the two states’ multilateral and successful cooperation. Armenian-Russian cooperation is one of the most important components of assuring security and stability in the Caucasus region. The evidence of that is those important issues which we will discuss in the future,” Sargsyan continued.
The Armenian president also touched on the importance of the enormous heritage of particular historical friendship, trust, and dedication to values of Armenian-Russian cooperation.
“From the first minute of the Russian president’s state visit beginning today, I once again felt mutual trust, that we can move forward. We can and we will vigorously implement joint planned projects,” said Sargsyan.
Medvedev thanked Sargsyan for the warm welcome, and for the good words about the Russian Federation and Russian partners. “Our relations, indeed, are counted by centuries. And that’s the most important, during those difficult historical stages, traditionally our peoples helped each other. There are many examples of that,” he said.
According to the Russian president, Armenia was one of the first to assist in combating Russia’s forest fires, showing much moral and human assistance.
“Russian-Armenian relations, just like bilateral, so too within the frames of CSTO and CIS, are really quite close. They can even be called exemplary, including in all areas. Our dialogue is mutually beneficial, including direct contacts between regions and people, which is particularly important and praiseworthy,” said Medvedev.
The Armenian and Russian presidents, yesterday evening, strolled through Yerevan’s Republic Square, around the “singing fountains,” stopping to listen to Russian classical music, played in honor of the Russian president’s state visit. Nearby Yerevan residents greeted the two statesmen. Afterwards, Sargsyan and Medvedev paid a visit to one of Yerevan’s many cafes, according to the RA president’s official website.