Yerevan Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan hosted the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Alexander Belski, who arrived in Armenia on an official visit. Welcoming the guests, Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan, first of all, referred to the reprehensible war waged by Azerbaijan against our state in recent days, its invasion of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, the issue of shelling of peaceful settlements, destruction, and unfortunate casualties, and the inadmissibility of further aggressive military actions and threats by Azerbaijan against the population of the Republic of Armenia.

Levon Hovhannisyan, the first deputy mayor of Yerevan, Armen Galjian, head of the "My Step" faction of the Yerevan Council of Elders; Mikayel Manrikyan, the leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" faction; Davit Khazhakyan, the head of the "Luys" faction, and Armenak Karapetyan, the head of the representation of the Yerevan Municipality in St. Petersburg, participated in the meeting with an expanded composition.

Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan emphasized that Yerevan attached great importance to the deepening of cooperation with the northern capital of Russia and expressed his belief that the document to be signed between the legislative bodies of the two cities will open new perspectives for implementing joint projects at this level as well.

Expressing gratitude for the warm reception, the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Alexander Belsky, noted that there is indeed a wide field of cooperation between the two cities, which will enable the inclusion of new areas of mutual interest.

After the official meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Council of Elders of Yerevan and the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg. The Mayor of Yerevan, Hrachya Sargsyan, and the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Alexander Belsky, signed the document.

Under the memorandum of understanding, cooperation will occur in local self-government, urban planning and land use, budget process and tax policy, culture, education, the latest technologies, environment, and other fields.