Armenian Minister of Defense Arshak Karapetyan met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu in Russia. The meeting was held in both narrow and expanded formats, the defense ministry said in a news release.
During the meeting Karapetyan and Shoigu discussed a broad circle of issues related to the Armenian-Russian allied relations and exchanged views over the issues of ensuring regional and international security.
Congratulating Karapetyan on his appointment as defense minister, Shoigu praised the work in the latest period carried out by the defense ministries of the two countries for developing bilateral cooperation and solving existing issues in the region.
Minister of Defense Shoigu emphasized that Russia will continue to make maximum efforts for strengthening peace in Nagorno Karabakh and peaceful resolution of the situation in Armenia’s bordering regions. He also thanked Armenia for continuing to participate in the humanitarian mission in Syria, despite the existing issues.
At Shoigu’s request, Karapetyan briefed him on the tactical situation around the borders of Armenia, attaching importance to the mediating efforts carried out by Russia for a peaceful resolution of the situation. Minister of Defense Karapetyan stressed that Armenia continues to be committed to establishing sustainable peace in the region and continuation of negotiations in this direction, but at the same time it won’t tolerate occupation of its border regions and will take all necessary actions to restore its territorial integrity.
The Armenian Minister of Defense thanked for the peacekeeping mission in Nagorno Karabakh, noting that peaceful life in Nagorno Karabakh is restored thanks to the Russian peacekeepers’ efforts, and that the uninterrupted communication with Armenia is ensured. Karapetyan stressed the inadmissibility of the periodical Azerbaijani provocations and ceasefire violations in the zone of responsibility of the peacekeepers, and mentioned the latest Azeri drone attack as an example.
Arshak Karapetyan also addressed the ongoing intensive reforms in the defense sector and thanked his partner for the comprehensive support. The minister emphasized that today the Armenian-Russian military-political relations are in the phase of shifting to an unprecedented high level.
Karapetyan and Shoigu reached several important agreements around upcoming partnership programs.
