Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok today and discussed the Karabakh issue and economic relations between the two countries.

Putin, according to a statement released by Pashinyan’s office, thanked the Armenian prime minister for attending the Russian-launched forum and said that the business leaders of the two nations should meet to expand economic relations.

Pashinyan said Russia is Armenia’s closest partner and strategic ally and thanked Putin for sending peacekeepers to Karabakh.

“This is not an easy mission. We have talked about it many times. We highly appreciate the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Lachin Corridor, and I think it is very important to highlight this. In general, in the sense of ensuring security in Nagorno-Karabakh, there are nuances that we constantly discuss, and I think that it will be very appropriate to discuss these issues today,” Pashinyan said before a closed-door talk with Putin.