MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) - President Dmitry Medvedev said investment cooperation between Russia and Armenia in the energy sector, including nuclear and thermal energy, has good prospects.
"Russian companies ship natural gas to Armenia on a regular basis and they are active in the electricity sector. The first energy generating unit of the Razdan thermal power plant is to be commissioned soon. This project is expected to bring our energy cooperation to a higher level," Medvedev said in response to a question from Interfax at a news conference after talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
"But we must not confine ourselves to energy alone, he said, noting that Russian investment in Armenia amounts to almost $3 billion. This figure will hopefully grow, he said.
Russia is aware of the importance its Armenian friends attach to infrastructure projects, especially the ones related to railway services, he said. "We discussed new ideas on how the serious situation in Armenia [in terms of handling transport flows] could be settled," he said.
"I hope Russia, Armenia and third countries will jointly improve this situation," he added.
On prospects of nuclear energy in Armenia, he said that "this sector is in need of large-scale investment, since it is not a cheap project, given the high standards applied in it."
"We continue discussing this project and I hope we will devise optimal ways of cooperating in the nuclear sector," Medvedev said.
Investing in communications and information technology holds much promise, too, he said. Armenia started actively introducing broadband Internet services even earlier than Russia, he added.
Sargsyan in turn said that Russian investors feel comfortable in Armenia and that their rights and interests have never been breached.