Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were Deputy Prime Minister, Russian Co-Chair of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky, Chief Executive Officer – Chairman of the Management Board of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.
On September 25, the President of Russia, the Prime Minister of Armenia and heads of several other foreign delegations took part in the Global Atomic Forum, which was held at the Atom Museum at VDNKh in Moscow.
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Beginning of Russian-Armenian talks
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Pashinyan, friends, good evening. We are delighted to see you.
Thank you for accepting our invitation to attend our international event dedicated to the development of the nuclear energy sector. It is quite natural, of course, since there is — and has been for quite a while — a nuclear plant in Armenia, and, as you yourself mentioned at the forum, it provides 30 percent of the country’s electricity generation. It is a considerable share, after all: 30 percent, or a third of Armenia's total energy are provided by the nuclear power plant.
Rosatom is currently working on extending the lifespan of this plant, so your presence at the forum makes perfect sense.
On a broader note, our bilateral relations continue to advance steadily and progressively. Our trade is nearly US$11 billion – I think, it represents 34 percent of your Republic’s foreign trade; trade between Armenia and Russia stands at US$11.7 billion, according to our statistics. This is a record figure for 2024.
We have been promoting closer ties across numerous other areas. We always have topics to discuss despite the fact that we had a meeting not so long ago, but we are nevertheless happy to welcome you to Moscow.
Welcome once again.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan: Mr Putin, thank you very much for the invitation to take part in the World Atomic Week forum. Today, we have learned a great deal about nuclear technologies, and we are grateful for sharing all these insights.
Naturally, the role of nuclear energy is growing constantly, and it is now globally recognised as an eco-friendly energy source. Indeed, nuclear energy is very important for our country as well.
You were spot on when you noted our close work with the Russian Federation, particularly our joint efforts to extend the operational life of the Armenian nuclear power plant until 2036.
We are also exploring projects involving small nuclear modules, which are well-suited for Armenia. On this matter, we maintain a very active dialogue with the Russian Federation and have highly effective cooperation with the Rosatom Corporation.
More broadly, our bilateral relations are indeed advancing steadily. You mentioned our mutual trade. While there has been a slight decline this year due to global circumstances, I believe it is essential that we persist in our efforts to ensure that our trade continues to expand at the same pace as in 2023 and 2024.
Undeniably, we have a very broad bilateral agenda with so many things to discuss.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
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