YEREVAN, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian brandy is better than French cognac. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who went to the Yerevan Brandy Company (YBC) on April 4 during his 2-day visit to Armenia, expressed this opinion. Accompanied by YBC Executive Director Erve Karoff, S. Lavrov and members of the Russian delegation familiarized themselves with the peculiarities of production of Armenian brandy. The Russian foreign minister made a record in the honorary guests' journal, as well as left his signature on the "peace barrel", which was filled with cognac spirit after establishment of a cease-fire on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact-line in 1994 and which will be opened on the occasion of the final solution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem. The guests tasted the 25-year-old exclisive "Erebuni" barndy, while S. Lavrov was presented with a 40-year-old "Sparapet" brandy. The delegation was accompanied by the ambassadors of the two countries Armen Smbatian and Nikolay Pavlov, and the RA Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanian. At the end of the visit, a dinner was given in honor of the guests, at which the Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian was also present.

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