MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan near Moscow on Thursday to discuss energy cooperation and the Nagorny Karabakh conflict, a Kremlin source said.

The agenda for the talks at the presidential residence at Zavidovo, will include "a broad range of issues in Russian-Armenian relations, measures to overcome the negative consequences of the global financial crisis, the Caucasus situation and topical international problems," the source said.

"Great attention will be paid to the issue of energy cooperation," he said.

A landlocked mountainous Caucasus state, Armenia is dependent on Russia for its gas and nuclear fuel supplies. Major Russian companies, including Gazprom, have energy projects in Armenia.

The talks will also focus on "boosting cooperation in trade and the economic sphere," the source added.

Trade between Armenia and Russia reached around $900 million in 2008, a 9.5% increase, year-on-year. Russia invested over $1.8 billion in Armenia's economy, mainly in energy, banking, mining and the construction sectors.

Russia signed an agreement with Armenia in February to grant a $500 million loan to the country to provide assistance during the financial crisis.

The presidents will also discuss the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh, the source said adding: "Moscow plans to provide further assistance to Baku and Yerevan to search for mutually beneficial decisions."

The armed conflict in Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, first began in 1988. The region declared its independence from Azerbaijan in late 1991 at a referendum and has been a source of conflict ever since. A ceasefire was signed in 1994.