In the preliminary results of the Russian presidential polls that took place yesterday Vladimir Putin wins in the first round. According to the data promulgated by the Central Election Committee, he won more than 60% of the votes. On the eve of the elections the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress organized an action supporting Putin in Moscow. The event that took place in ‘Luzhniki’ was attended by Azeri businessmen and cultural elit living in Moscow. Abbas Abbasov, ex-Vice PM if Azerbaijan addressed the meeting.
Abbas Abbasov, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Inter-Religious Council of the CIS:
We are gathered here today to unite the Azeris who live in Moscow, in Russia, to decide how they should live after the 4th of March 2012, when historic events are due to take place and a new president of the Russian Federation elected. Azeris living in Russia cannot be indifferent to what is going on there, to the future of Russia and their own future. As with all the peoples living in the Russian Federation we also want to take part in this historic electoral campaign in which a new president will be elected.
Russian-Azeri relations did not develop over several years but over several centuries. This friendship was brought to us by our ancestors. And we, our generation and the younger generation that should pick up the baton of this friendship, do not have to do much, our ancestors left us the legacy that we, Russians and Azeris, should live in peace and understanding. In the last few years, since the Soviet break-down, Russia and Azerbaijan became two young independent states. I remember the condition our republics were in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. But Russian was great even then, not because of its territory, its seas and rivers, but because of its history, its soul, its decency and support for all the people of the former Soviet Union.
I was impressed by his sense of patriotism for his country and his people. After the first visit of Putin to Azerbaijan in January 2001, a new epoch of Russian-Azeri relations began. In the last year commodity turnover increased from 80 million dollars to more than two and a half billion. Russia started to develop and the Russian economy revive, Russian people started to live better, defense became even stronger, only blind people will not see it. And whoever does not want to hear it is deaf. We need to keep in mind that thanks to this man, Vladimir Putin, in the last years Russian started to revive. Today all our hopes are
for Vladimir Putin to build a new Russia, he is the author of a new democratic Russia, we will lead Russia forward and Russia will progress to occupy a decent place in the world community. Dear friends, I address you, an Azeri living in Russia, our compatriots, now the destiny of our state is decided, the destiny of our children and our new generation and we are convinced that only Vladimir Putin, this strong, charismatic, masculine and honest man, will lead Russia forward, and the Azeris of the Russian Federation will be next to him.
