Alexey Overchuk, the Russian deputy prime minister, was received in Yerevan yesterday (1 April) by the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan. The two discussed the progress of the tripartite working group – co-chaired by Overchuk alongside the deputy prime ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan – the possibility of unblocking regional communication links, and the efforts underway in this direction.
The Prime Minister’s press office reports that the “importance of implementing humanitarian agreements and the need to strengthen stability in the region were emphasised on both sides”. The men also exchanged views on the current agenda of Armenian-Russian economic co-operation. The Armenian-Russian bilateral agenda was also discussed in a separate meeting today (2 April) between the Armenian president, Armen Sargsyan, and the Russian ambassador to Armenia, Sergey Kopirkin.
Separately, according to TASS news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, today confirmed with journalists that a meeting is to take place between Putin and Pashinyan in Moscow on 7 April:
"Yes, I can confirm. Indeed, Prime Minister Pashinyan's visit to Moscow is scheduled for April 7. He will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin."
Peskov stated that the leaders would discuss the trilateral agreement that ended the second Karabakh war and the unblocking of regional transport infrastructure, as well as exchanging views on Armenia’s upcoming elections and other issues related to Armenian-Russian co-operation. TASS reports that this was confirmed by Pashinyan’s press secretary, Mane Gevorgyan, who also mentioned that the Prime Minister would be working in isolation from today in preparation for the visit.