By Vestnik Kavkaza
The Russian and Azerbaijani presidents met in Baku yesterday. Vladimir Putin said at the end of the summit: “I have not visited Azerbaijan for a while, since 2006. A lot of time has passed. Azerbaijan is changing fast and actively, becoming a dynamic state with high rates of development. The pace of development of Azerbaijan’s economy is one of the fastest in the world. It is impressive. We only wish our friends success. Azerbaijan is an old, traditional, reliable partner of Russia. We have close cooperation in the Caucasus Region, Caspian Region, within the framework of the CIS, with leading international structures. Such cooperation is based on the strong traditions of friendship, mutual understanding between our countries and peoples. We have had detailed discussions of the key points of the strategic partnership of Russia and Azerbaijan, set plans for further development, mainly in the trade-economic field”
Experts have formed an opinion that it was time to bring the friendly mood of the governmental officials to the level of public interaction of Russia and Azerbaijan, in other words, develop bilateral cooperation in the humanitarian field. Opinions of Ismail Agakishiyev, President of the Consulting-Analysis-PR Union of Companies, and Alexey Vlasov, Editor-in-Chief of Vestnik Kavkaza, have coincided in this aspect.
Ismail Agakishiyev: First of all, I would like to ask: in one interview, you said that Putin, besides many other reasons, was on his way to Baku to explain who mister Aliyev was. But the presidents know each other well and, I believe, have mutual trust. The atmosphere, the mood of Putin’s visit spoke for the fact.
Alexey Vlasov: A lot of time has passed since the previous meeting of the two leaders and the issue of personal sympathies for Putin’s pragmatism is essential, although not primary. Information about it was very diverse, some media sources and experts were about to say that “Baku was finally moving towards the West”, “the positions of Turkey have finally become firm” and etc. The leaders of the two states need to “feel” the mood, mutual relations, to see whether anything changed radically. In this context, I assume that the Kremlin got the answer to the question you have reminded me about. I think that the cold snaps in the relations of Russia and Azerbaijan did not happen. There was a sense of mutual dislike formed in the information space, mostly artificially, with the help of some Azerbaijani mass media sources working for third parties. This situation now has been simplified, the positions of the presidents in most issues were made as clear as possible – work, cooperate.
Ismail Agakishiyev: I agree. There is not a single issue that cannot be solved via negotiations. Moreover, the agreements signed strengthen bilateral relations, but they may only work when there is trust. It is not just the level of leaders, it is wider, on the scale of public dialogue. This does not need PR. Instead, it needs real steps so that the image of Azerbaijan in Russia and vice versa was adequate. The image of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijanis, I would add.
No wonder Vladimir Putin noted the high level of support for the Russian language in Azerbaijan. It could not be different with such attitude towards the Russian culture, Russian language, that exists among the elite, business, intellectual community of Azerbaijan. This is the basis of our relations.
Alexey Vlasov: But this basis needs strengthening. And the documents signed during the visit, including the ones in the humanitarian field, need to be backed by initiatives on the level of universities, NGOs, information agencies, mass media. The Baku Humanitarian Forum is an excellent project. It is held once a year. There is need for forms of constant communication, especially for young people, young professionals such as historians, political analysts, sociologists.
Ismail Agakishiyev: You know, it was great that Putin and Aliyev mentioned the MSU branch in Baku during their discussions. Indeed, such leading projects in the education field create serious prospects for innovations. It would be very nice if the History Faculty of the MSU could have 10-20 students from Azerbaijan study there like in the old times. We need a serious program for student exchange, development of joint master-degree programs. This is a very topical idea and I fear lest it should be blocked. In reality, I agree that the vector of bilateral cooperation should shift towards communication of civil institutions of Azerbaijan and Russia. This, if you will, is the goal today.
To be continued
