November 7, 2007 - 14:12 AMT
Kocharian: attempts to exclude Russia from South Caucasus will lead to no good
New players entered the South Caucasus region recently, however attempts to exclude Russia from South Caucasus will lead to no good, Armenian President Robert Kocharian said at Imperial Alexander University of Helsinki.

"Assessments of Russia's role may differ. Nevertheless, it would be useful not to aggravate the situation by ousting an experienced and influential power from the region. Russia is a stabilizing factor for us," he said adding that Russia won't be dominating like the USSR.

Commenting on the Russian-Armenian relations, President Kocharian described them as 'advanced'. "These relations embrace dynamic political dialogue, economy and military technical cooperation. Russia claims to become the major investor in Armenia. Bilateral relations are positively developing," he said, ITAR-TASS reports.

It's worth mentioning that the Armenian President made his formal speech in English but preferred Russian when meeting Finnish scholars, representatives of the Armenian Diaspora and journalists.