Maria Zakharova to Vestnik Kavkaza: Russia ready for close cooperation with Azerbaijan within CICA

Russia is interested in developing the CICA format and is ready for active work with Azerbaijan as Chair of the Conference, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Vestnik Kavkaza.

During a weekly briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Vestnik Kavkaza that Moscow is intent on energetic cooperation with Baku to advance the format of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which Azerbaijan will chair for a further two years.

“We are ready for close interaction with our Azerbaijani colleagues, who are chairing CICA in the current period and over the next two years, including on strengthening the format and filling its activities with interesting, forward-looking projects, with a view to harmoniously integrating this platform into Eurasian integration processes,” Maria Zakharova said.

She noted that Russia is active within CICA. “In his speech in Baku, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov highlighted our contribution. The economic dimension occupies a special place. Since 2007, Russia has been the CICA coordinator for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Business Council, established on our initiative in 2015, is functioning steadily - its latest meeting was held in May 2025 in the Azerbaijani capital,” the diplomat said.

“We organise CICA events dedicated to continental transport connectivity (the previous one also took place in May 2025). In 2021, a Russian proposal was supported to include cooperation in the field of international information security in the Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures. As coordinator of this area, we regularly hold specialised seminars on the sustainable development of the Internet, ensuring security in the use of IT, and countering the use of ICTs for criminal purposes,” Maria Zakharova continued.

“In 2023, the CICA Compendium was supplemented, on Russia’s initiative, with the theme of volunteering, and for several years now CICA has been a partner of the #WeAreTogether international prize, established by the Russian President in support of this phenomenon of civic responsibility. In January 2025, a National Research Centre for CICA was established at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and it takes an active part in the work of the Conference’s academic track,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson concluded.