Yerevan ready for active cooperation with Moscow - Armenian parliament speaker

YEREVAN. June 6 (Interfax) - Armenia is ready for active cooperation and long-term partnership with Russia, Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan said.

"The Republic of Armenia is ready for active cooperation with the Russian Federation based on constructive dialogue, trust and aspiration for the progressive development of a partnership. We aim to develop long-term mutually advantageous cooperation," Simonyan said at a meeting with Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko in Yerevan on Friday.

Yerevan appreciates everything good that it has in bilateral relations with Moscow, he said.

"I am pleased to say that the dialogue with Russia has intensified since the beginning of this year. A special meeting of the inter-parliamentary commission [for cooperation between the Russian Federal Assembly and the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia] held on the sidelines of your visit is proof of the mutual interest in maintaining dynamic dialogue and the aspiration for further strengthening of the strategic partnership between our countries," Simonyan said.

Matviyenko said, in turn, that Russia was interested in developing and expanding multifaceted cooperation with Armenia.

"Today, we are natural allies. We are strategic partners," Matviyenko said.

Matviyenko also met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as part of the official visit of the Federation Council delegation to Yerevan, the Federation Council's press service said.

"The negotiations started in the one-on-one format and lasted much longer than planned. The meeting continued in the expanded format," the press service said on Friday.