Russia attaches special importance to assistance for increasing the potential of the Armed Forces of Armenia.

APA reports that the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Sergey Shoigu, said this during the meeting of the defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the CIS countries in Moscow with his Armenian counterpart, Suren Papikyan.

It was noted that the heads of the Defense Ministries of Armenia and Russia approved the cooperation plan for the next year between the two countries.

"Armenia is our ally in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and our main strategic partner in the South Caucasus. We are very interested in maintaining stability in this region and are making all our efforts for this. We attach special importance to the development of bilateral cooperation and assistance in the field of increasing the potential of the Armed Forces of Armenia." , - added Shoigu.

Papikyan, on the other hand, noted that this year is his fourth meeting with Shoigu.

"We highly appreciate your initiative and efforts in organizing the summit. December is the time to conclude the work done and think about plans for the future," said Papikyan.

It should be noted that a meeting of the heads of defense ministries of the SCO and CIS countries was held in Moscow today, and joint agreements were signed at the end.