President of Armenia: "Spheres of Cooperation Between Armenia and Russia Embrace New Directions."

President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan spoke highly of relations with Russia at the meeting with the delegation of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia headed by chairman of the Armenia-Russia group of deputies Nikolai Ryzhkov.

As the press service of the president of Armenia said, Robert Kocharyan stated: "The whole complex of Armenian-Russian relations has reached real progress." The president noted that "the spheres of cooperation between Armenia and Russia keep broadening, embracing more of new directions." According to him, a sizeable growth of goods turnover has been registered. Kocharyan also stressed that such a representative visit of the Russian parliamentarians to Yerevan shows that interparliamentary relations have been making headway.

Russia is intent to boost economic relations with Armenia, deputy Nikolai Ryzhkov stated. "There is no stagnation in Armenian-Russian relations," he said. Speaking about resolution of the transport problems, Ryzhkov noted that Russia and Armenia must more dynamically decide the question of setting up the Caucasus ferry-boat crossing with the leadership of Georgia. "As a result of the Georgian side's unwillingness to open a ferry-boat way because of its relations with Abkhazia, we have to build a roundabout way through Novorossiisk to Poti or Batumi and again by a Georgian road up to Yerevan", Nikolai Ryzhkov said.

The Russian parliamentary delegation arrived in Yerevan to participate in the 5th meeting of the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary commission on cooperation. The group includes representatives of the business community of Russia.