Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Yerevan on Wednesday to take part in a regular session of the CSTO Collective Security Council.
The session will be held in both the closed and open formats and envisages a signing of a number of documents.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived at Yerevan airport to meet the Russian leader in person. The politicians shook hands at the airplane ladder. Pashinyan escorted Putin to his Aurus, which was waiting for him. The Russian president invited the Armenian prime minister to join him. Pashinyan accepted [the invitation] and sat in the passenger seat on his right side where Putin himself usually drives. The Russian president went around the car, took off his jacket as the weather in Yerevan is warm, and joined his companion. This unplanned move caused minor confusion among the Armenian prime minister's protocol officers, who hastily had to remove the prime minister's standard from Pashinyan's car.
The Kremlin press service earlier reported that the summit in Yerevan would focus on key cooperation areas within the organization, as well as on important international and regional problems.
President Putin is expected to hold a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the event. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the Russian leader "will have an opportunity" to meet with his Belarusian counterpart as well.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS