ARMENIAN LEADERS MEET WITH VISITING RUSSIAN PRESIDENT

President Kocharian and other senior officials met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 March. Putin arrived in Yerevan late on 24 March on a one-day official visit timed with the opening of a special "Year of Russia" cultural commemoration in Armenia. Kocharian and Putin reviewed the planned acceleration of Russian investment related to the "assets-for-debt" deal which transferred several strategic Armenian enterprises to Russia in exchange for the cancellation of roughly $100 million in Armenian foreign debt. Putin is also expected to discuss bilateral military relations and the implications of the natural gas pipeline under construction between Armenia and Iran. Gazprom Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Ryazanov made clear on 21 March that Gazprom opposes the recent proposal by Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli to extend that pipeline to permit Iran to export natural gas via Georgia.