The visit of Dmitry Medvedev to Azerbaijan is to play a significant
role in the development of bilateral relations and to consolidate the
positive trend of the last two years. Russia and Azerbaijan, supported
by the positive relationship of their leaders Ilham Aliev and Dmitry
Medvedev, have managed to take a serious step towards a strategic
partnership. The visit, in the context of the difficult situation in
the Caucasus, will demonstrate that the positions of the two countries
coincide a lot on several issues. And after the recent visit to
Armenia, Moscow can submit Baku and Yerevan its own viewpoint of the
Karabakh peace process. Of course there are several disagreements, but
they concern Baku and Yerevan, Moscow here is a moderator in the
settlement process. Military cooperation is also to be discussed,
particularly in relation to talks about the Azerbaijani purchase of
surface-to-air S-300 missiles and military helicopters. The Iranian
issue is also to be discussed. The positions of Moscow and Baku
coincide by more than 90% here. Azerbaijan and Russia believe that the
issue could and should be resolved by peaceful means only.
Unfortunately neither Russia nor Azerbaijan, but the US governs the
dialogue on the Iranian nuclear program. Moscow, Baku and Astana see
very similarly the issue of the Caspian Sea's legal status. But
Turkmenistan and Iran haven't come closer to their viewpoint to
discuss all the issues. We hope the problem will be resolved by the
Caspian countries without the participation of external forces. As far
as the enforcement of the strategic relations between Baku and Ankara
is concerned, I see no jealousy on the Russian side. No one is to get
the "controlling stake", as they say, in the existing conditions.
Ankara for Moscow is one of the main interlocutors concerning
geopolitics and the economy of the South Caucasus.
By Alexey Vlasov. Specially for VK
