Azernews.Az

MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev began a state visit to Armenia on Thursday.

Medvedev arrived in Yerevan for talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and is also due to attend an informal meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the military arm of the former Soviet bloc CIS.

The Russian leader was greeted at the Zvartnots international airport by President Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian.

According to presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko, after the welcoming ceremony Medvedev was to head to the monument to the victims of the alleged 1915 "genocide of Armenians" in the Ottoman Empire.

In the evening, Medvedev was to hold talks with Sargsyan, but official negotiations are scheduled for Friday.

A number of agreements are due to be signed after the talks. They will expand and develop Russian-Armenian strategic cooperation, specifically in the fields of defense, atomic energy, trade and economy. The heads of state will then hold a joint press conference.

On Friday, Medvedev is due to attend the unveiling of the memorial in Gyumri where 156 Russian officers killed in the 19th century Russian-Turkish war are buried.

On the same day, the two leaders will be joined by the presidents of other CSTO member states for an informal meeting on Lake Sevan, the fourth summit of the organization.

Sergey Markov, an MP representing the United Russia party and a political analyst, said the CSTO summit will discuss a number of issues, including some internal matters, as well as the organization’s entities abroad.

The analyst added that the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh will be touched upon at the meeting, but ruled out adoption of a specific decision to that end.