Russia-Armenia trade turnover set record in 2023: Putin

Trade turnover between Russia and Armenia set a new record in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

Speaking at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Putin said economic relations between the two countries are developing "positively."

"We always, first and foremost, pay attention to economic cooperation. Over the past year, the growth in trade turnover amounted to a very significant figure, and to a large extent, this is due to an increase in imports from you and exports to Armenia from our direction. The trade turnover reached more than $7 billion. There has never been such a volume in our trade and economic relations before," he emphasized.

Putin also noted that Armenia benefits from participating in the Eurasian Economic Union, saying that over the last decade, Yerevan's trade turnover with the countries of the economic organization increased fourteenfold.

Putin invited Pashinyan to discuss security issues in the region, hinting at controversies over Armenia's participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led military bloc.

Pashinyan confirmed that "there were questions that need to be discussed."

"Economic matters we have already discussed at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. Now I hope and I am sure we will discuss important issues of bilateral and regional relations," he said.

Armenia announced on May 8 that it would not partake in the financing of the CSTO.

It was the latest in a series of steps the country had taken to distance itself from the Russian-led security alliance.