Visit to Belgorod

On July 1, Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vagharshak Harutyunyan, during a working trip to Belgorod, expressed his thoughts on the destruction of a residential building due to an AFU missile hit. 

"A place where [concentrated] the grief of dozens of people, not only those who suffered, but I think it has a psychological impact on the whole city. Here, one can feel one thing—compassion, understanding the full scale of this grief. And, naturally, there is a desire for it to end quickly," the Armenian diplomat told the media. Harutyunyan also visited the city's center for rhythmic gymnastics, sports acrobatics, and trampoline jumping, "Lilac."

Notably, on May 12, Belgorod and its vicinity experienced shelling by Ukrainian troops. 

The next day, the Armenian ambassador visited a military cemetery in the Kursk region, where he "honored the memory of the Russian servicemen from Kursk" who died during the Russian aggression against Ukraine. 

Remarks about trade turnover between Russia and Armenia

During a meeting with representatives of the Armenian Diaspora in Belgorod, Harutyunyan announced that trade turnover between certain regions of Armenia and Russia had grown 2.5 times in two years due to recent agreements. "More than 70 regions of the Russian Federation have signed agreements with our [Armenian] provinces. This has led to the fact that our ties with Russian regions at this [interregional] level have been strengthened. The trade turnover has grown 2-2.5 times between the regions over the last two years, these are serious indicators. And this is not the whole potential, it is not exhausted," he emphasized, adding that Armenia plans to establish ties with the Belgorod region.

Harutyunyan highlighted that Armenia and Russia have more than 200 federal-level agreements in various spheres, with about thirty signed in the last two years alone. "The relations between the states are defined not by some articles in newspapers, statements of individuals, but by interstate agreements. We aimed at strengthening our ties, especially at the interregional level. We held Days of Armenia in such regions as Yaroslavl, Sverdlovsk, Krasnodar, Volgograd, Irkutsk, Perm, and everywhere we signed interregional agreements," the diplomat noted.

Bilateral relations

Armenian Ambassador to Russia expressed that national communities of the peoples of Russia and Armenia form the basis of allied relations between the two countries, acting as a crucial link. "I approach the communities as a link between Russia and Armenia, which is the basis of our allied relations," the diplomat noted.

Harutyunyan reminded the audience of the long history shared between the Russian and Armenian peoples. "We went through a joint [history] as part of a single state—first the Russian Empire, then the USSR. And today, we are going through very difficult times when geopolitical changes are taking place all over the world, and they affect both Russia and Armenia. But we have traveled a worthy path in the recent history together with the Russian Federation," he emphasized.