Armenia’s new president Armen Sarkissian, who took office on Monday, April 9, is planning to visit Moscow in the near future, the president himself said in an interview with TASS.

"Naturally, I will be very interested in visiting Moscow as Armenia’s president in the near future," Sarkissian said.

"Armenian leaders traditionally pay their first official visits to Moscow. So far, no concrete date has been agreed," he said.

He said his priority as Armenia’s president is to strengthen strategic partnership with Russia, cement friendship between the two nations and encourage contacts between peoples.

"I would like to use this occasion to wish Vladimir Putin, who scored a landslide victory at the presidential elections in Russia, further big achievements in the development of the country’s economy, improvement of living standards in Russia and enhancement of its role on the global arena," he said.

A former ambassador to the United Kingdom, Sarkissian was sworn in as president at a special sitting of the National Assembly at the Sports and Concert Complex in Yerevan on Monday.