Russian President Vladimir Putin met today, Sunday, with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit held in China.

At the start of the meeting, Putin said: “I am very happy to see you and to have the opportunity to talk on the sidelines of today’s and tomorrow’s events. We haven’t seen each other for a long time, and many diverse issues have accumulated, bilateral, regional, and international. I hope our meeting today will be useful and fruitful. Glad to see you.”

The Russian president noted that members of the Russian and Armenian governments are in constant contact, saying: “Our colleagues are in constant contact. Government members report to me, they visit Armenia frequently. And your government members visit Russia. We will talk about everything now.”

For his part, Pashinyan pointed out that his meetings with the Russian leader always have a busy agenda. He added: “I am confident that today’s meeting will be the same, that is clear. I am very happy with the partnership and dialogue that have developed between us, our personal dialogue, and of course the very active dialogue between our brotherly countries.”

Shortly before, Putin held a brief meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the Russian president’s aide Yuri Ushakov.

The summit activities are held at the Meijiang International Conference and Exhibition Center in Tianjin, China. It opened with an official reception for heads of delegations hosted by the summit host – Chinese President Xi Jinping. The official summit program begins on September 1.

Putin arrived today for a four-day visit to China. He will participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and hold bilateral meetings with foreign leaders. He is also scheduled to visit Beijing, where he plans to hold a trilateral conversation with the leaders of Mongolia and China, in addition to separate talks with Xi Jinping and other heads of state.

Additionally, the Russian president will attend as a guest of honor the celebratory events in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japanese militarists and the end of World War II.