Sarkisian, Medvedev Meet in St. Petersburg

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)—Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian met in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Friday for talks which their offices said touched upon a broad range of issues of mutual interest.
In virtually identical short statements, the Kremlin and Sarkisian’s press service said they discussed Russian-Armenian cooperation in various area as well as “regional issues,” an apparent reference to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Medvedev is expected to host fresh talks between Sarkisian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi, southern Russia on March 5.
He organized three such summits in the course of last year. Sarkisian and Aliyev failed to make decisive progress towards the signing of a framework peace accord drafted by Russia, the United States and France.
In another statement issued ahead of the talks, the Kremlin said economic issues will be high on the agenda the Russian and Armenian leaders. It said they will specifically discuss Russian involvement in Yerevan’s ambitious plans to build a new nuclear power station.
Medvedev and Sarkisian were also expected to discuss the Russian Gazprom monopoly’s intention to further raise the price of its natural gas for Armenia this year.
Armenian and Russian officials have been negotiating on the issue for the past few months. Energy Minister Armen Movsisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service earlier this month that the Armenian government still hopes to prevent the price rise.