MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. The trade turnover between Russia and Armenia, which contracted because of the coronavirus pandemic, can be restored and increased shortly, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday at the meeting with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The trade volume between the two countries is sound but a certain drop of this indicator was noted in 2020 due to certain reasons, the coronavirus pandemic in the first instance, the Russian leader said.

"I am confident we are able to not merely restore this volume in the near future but also to progress further," Putin noted.

Relations between Moscow and Yerevan are strategic by their nature, the Russian President said. 40% of all capital investments into the Armenian economy "are of the Russian origin," he noted. The bilateral intergovernmental commission is also working proactively, Putin said.

According to Russian Customs Service, the trade turnover between Russia and Armenia dropped by 9.6% year-on-year to more than $2.3 bln in 2020.