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On November 2 the RA NA Galust Sahakyan received the delegation led by the Speaker of the Council of the Federation of the RF Federal Assembly Valentina Matvienko which arrived in Armenia on an official visit.

The Speaker of the National Assembly Galust Sahakyan expressed his condolences to Valentina Matvienko on the tragic crash of the airplane flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to Saint Petersburg, which caused hundreds of human victims: by the NA Speaker’s proposal the attendees honoured in one-minute silence the victims’ memory.

The Head of the parliament has noted that the friendly centuries-old relations unite the Armenian and Russian peoples, which serve as a firm basis for the strategic cooperation existing between the two states.

Galust Sahakyan highlighted the close ties and cooperation between the two states, the political dialogue, the inter-parliamentary effective cooperation, as well as the cultural, educational and scientific contacts.

Highly assessing the joint work, Mr Sahakyan emphasized the importance of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the RA NA and RF Federal Assembly in the development of the inter-state relations.

Speaking about Armenia’s membership to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Galust Sahakyan noted that it created wide opportunities for the development of the bilateral trade-economic relations between the two countries. In this context the NA Speaker has noted that one of the important problems of the two parliaments is the harmonization of the legislation, which will promote the development of the economic integration processes.

Touching upon the regional issues, Galust Sahakyan underlined the constructive role of Russia in ensuring security in the region, particularly, in the process of the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The Head of the Parliament has noted that in the RA Constitutional Amendments to be held on December 6 the Armenian side expects that the IPA CIS will take part in the referendum with the observation mission.

The Speaker of the Council of the Federation of the RF Federal Assembly Valentina Matvienko thanked the RA NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan for expressing condolences.

Valentina Matvienko has noted with satisfaction that the relations of the two countries further develop and turn into a new qualitative phase. In this context, Mrs Matvienko highlighted Armenia’s membership to the EEU. She has underlined that the Armenian and Russian parliamentarians actively cooperate in the international parliamentary platforms, particularly in the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, in the CSTO PA and the PABSEC.

In the relations of the two countries Mrs Matvienko also emphasized the humanitarian and cultural cooperation, which have deep historical roots.

Touching upon the RA Constitutional Amendments process, Valentina Matvienko has stated that Russia understands that the referendum is of great importance in the political life of Armenia and will take part in the observation mission.

The sides emphasized the 27^th sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the RA NA and RF Federal Assembly to be held in Yerevan in near future, on the agenda of which issues concerning the development of cooperation in the spheres of Armenian-Russian cultural and touristic spheres are included.

The Speaker of the Council of the Federation of the RF Federal Assembly Valentina Matvienko left a note in the Book of the NA Honourable Guests.

At the end of the meeting Valentina Matvienko handed over a Memorial Medal dedicated to the 25^th anniversary of the Federal Assembly to the RA NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan for the contribution to the development of the inter-parliamentary relations. By the RF President’s order the RA NA Deputy Speaker Hermine Naghdalyan, the NA deputy Volodya Badalyan and the Head of the NGO Integration and Development Aram Safaryan were awarded Friendship Order for the contribution to the strengthening of cooperation and friendship with the Russian Federation and to the development of the inter-parliamentary and cultural relations. By the RF President’s assignment, Mrs Matvienko handed over Letters of Appreciation to the NA deputies Hovhannes Margaryan, Aleksan Petrosyan and the Chairman of the State Committee of the Cadastre Real Estate adjunct to the RA Government Martin Sargsyan for the contribution to the development of the Russian-Armenian cooperation and strengthening of the bilateral inter-parliamentary relations.

Congratulating those awarded, Valentina Matvienko highly assessed their activities at the international parliamentary platforms.

The Speaker of the RA National Assembly Galust Sahakyan and the Speaker of the Council of the Federation of the RF Federal Assembly Valentina Matvienko who arrived in Armenia on an official visit, had a joint briefing after the meeting held in the parliament on November 2, summing up the results of the meeting.

Afterwards they planted a fir tree symbolizing the Armenian-Russian friendship at the Alley of Memory, in the Parliament Park.