By Vestnik Kavkaza
Diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation were established on April 4, 1992.
In 1992 the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Russia and the Embassy of Russia in Azerbaijan were opened. At present, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia is Polad Byulbyuloglu (since 30.01.2006), and the Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan is Vladimir Dorohin (since 17.03.2009).
The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security (July 3, 1997), the Baku Declaration (January 9, 2001), the Moscow Declaration (February 6, 2004) and the Baku Declaration on Friendship and Strategic Partnership (July 3, 2008) are key instruments for the foundation of the legal base of bilateral relations.
October 8, 1993 the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia.
September 9, 1994, Heydar Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia.
November 17, 1994 Heydar Aliyev paid a visit to Russia to attend the birthday of Azerbaijani poet M.Fuzuli.
August 9, 1996, Heydar Aliyev visited Russia to participate in the inauguration ceremony of Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
July 2-4, 1997, Heydar Aliyev was in Russia on his first official visit. During the visit, 7 documents were signed.
January 9-10, 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit, 7 documents were signed.
January 24-26, 2002, Heydar Aliyev was on a state visit to Russia. During the visit, 7 documents were signed.
June 8-9, 2002, Heydar Aliyev was on a working visit to St. Petersburg and met with Vladimir Putin.
September 23-24, 2002, Heydar Aliyev was on a working visit to Russia. During the visit, 4 documents were signed.
December 15, 2003 Vladimir Putin and his delegation composed of 100 people arrived in Baku to attend the funeral of national leader Heydar Aliyev.
February 5-7, 2004, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Russia.
July 3, 2004 Ilham Aliyev at the invitation of Vladimir Putin was on a working visit to Moscow to watch the races for the Prize of the President of Russia.
October 18-19, 2004, Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia.
February 15-16, 2005 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia.
May 9, 2005 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia to attend a ceremony in Moscow to mark the 60th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
June, 13-14 2005 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia to attend the 9th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and met with Vladimir Putin.
August 30, 2005 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia to attend a ceremony dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of Kazan.
February 21-22, 2006, Vladimir Putin was on a working visit to Azerbaijan and took part in the opening ceremony of the Year of Russia.
June 16, 2006 in Alma-Ata a meeting between Aliyev and Putin was held; they participated in the "Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia."
July 21-22, 2006 Ilham Aliyev attended an informal summit of the CIS held in Moscow.
November 8-11, 2006 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Moscow.
December 4, 2006 Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov was on an official visit to Baku and attended the closing ceremony of the Year of Russia in Azerbaijan. During the visit, the two countries adopted a Programme of Cooperation in the Humanitarian Sphere for 2007-2009.
March 27-28, 2007 Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva attended a official reception organized by Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin Palace in honour of the 80th anniversary of the musician and conductor Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich; for his great contribution to the development of international cultural relations and music of Azerbaijan, the hero of the day was awarded the Order of Heydar Aliyev. At the meeting at the end of the reception the presidents expressed satisfaction with the expansion of cooperation between the two countries based on the principles of reliable partnership and noted the special importance of high-level meetings to deepen the relationship.
April 25, 2007 Prime Minister of Azerbaijan A.Rasi-Zadeh on behalf of President Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to Moscow to attend the funeral of first Russian President Boris Yeltsin and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
April 28-29, 2007 Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to Moscow to attend the funeral of Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich.
June 9-10, 2007 Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to St. Petersburg to attend an informal summit of the CIS member states.
June 30, 2007 Ilham Aliyev at the invitation of Vladimir Putin was on a working visit to Rostov-on-Don to watch the races for the Prize of the President of Russia.
February 20-24, 2008 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia to take part in an informal summit of the CIS member states. During the visit he was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Moscow State University.
March 3, 2008, Ilham Aliyev sent congratulations to Dmitry Medvedev on his election as President of the Russian Federation.
April 3, 2008 in Bucharest, within the framework of the NATO summit, a meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin was held.
May 8, 2008 Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory message to President Dmitry Medvedev on the occasion of Victory Day and taking office and invited him to visit Azerbaijan.
May 14, 2008 Head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev paid a visit to Moscow to attend the ceremony dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the birth of the national leader Heydar Aliyev.
June 5-7, 2008, Ilham Aliyev was in St. Petersburg to attend an informal summit of the CIS member states in the framework of the 12th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and met with Dmitry Medvedev.
July 3-4, 2008 Dmitry Medvedev paid an official visit to Azerbaijan, held talks with President Ilham Aliyev; met with Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office, the Bishop of Baku and the Caspian Eparchy, the head of the religious community of Mountain Jews; visited the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. During the visit, five bilateral agreements were signed, and among them the main one - the Declaration on Friendship and Strategic Cooperation.
August 21, 2008 Dmitry Medvedev sent a message to Ilham Aliyev on Russia's attitude and opinion regarding the events in South Ossetia, Russian-Georgian relations and the CIS.
September 3, 2008 Dmitry Medvedev called Ilham Aliyev. The heads of state expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral Azerbaijani-Russian relations at various levels, discussed international issues, the situation in the region, the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other issues of mutual interest.
September 15-16, 2008 Ilham Aliyev at the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation paid a working visit to Moscow and met with President Medvedev alone and Prime Minister Putin.
November 1-2 , 2008 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia and met with the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. After the meeting, the talks continued in a trilateral format with the participation of Russian President Medvedev. Following the meetings, the three presidents signed the Declaration.
November 24-25, 2008, the Minister of National Security of Azerbaijan E. Mahmudov, at the invitation of director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, was on a visit to Moscow. During the visit Mahmudov met with Fradkov, director of the Federal Security Service of Russia Bortnikov and Russian Security Council Secretary Patrushev.
December 28, 2008 the head of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Naryshkin was on a visit to Baku and was received by Ilham Aliyev.
April 16-17, 2009 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia and met with President Medvedev. During the meeting they discussed the economic ties between the two countries, cooperation in the energy sector, issues related to the expansion of the market sales of Azerbaijani natural gas, the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
June 4-5, 2009 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to St. Petersburg to attend the 13th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and met with President Dmitry Medvedev.
June 4, a joint meeting of Ilham Aliyev, President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan was held.
June 25, 2009 in Yekaterinburg the Consulate General of Azerbaijan was opened. On May 13, 2010 the official opening ceremony of the consulate was held.
June 29, 2009 Dmitry Medvedev paid a working visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit, the Joint Declaration on the Caspian Sea and the Joint Declaration on the basic principles of delimitation of state borders and the division of water resources of the Samur River between the Azerbaijan Republic and the Russian Federation were signed. In addition, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan and the Russian company "Gazprom" signed a document on the basic terms of the contract for the sale of Azerbaijani natural gas.
July 17-18, 2009 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia and watched the races for the Prize of the President of Russia in 2009.
July 18, a trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia was held in Moscow.
November 23, 2009 the head of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Naryshkin took part in the opening in Baku of a regional office of one of the largest Russian banks -"VTB" – and in the opening ceremony of the "House of the Russian Book", awarded the Order of Honour to the Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, and was received by President Ilham Aliyev.
November 24, 2009 Ilham Aliyev at the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation was on a working visit to Ulyanovsk.
January 23, 2010 the head of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Naryshkin was on a visit to Baku and received by Ilham Aliyev. At the meeting, it was stressed that bilateral relations were developing successfully in various fields, including in the humanitarian sphere. The importance of the First Azerbaijani-Russian Forum on humanitarian cooperation held in Baku was highlighted; it was stressed that such actions serve to further deepen the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.
January 25, 2010 Ilham Aliyev was on a working visit to Sochi, where a trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia was held. At the meeting it was agreed to continue the talks held in this format in 2009.
May 9, 2010 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia to attend a ceremony in Moscow dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory.
June 8, 2010 as part of the 3rd Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia which took place in Istanbul a meeting of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin was held.
June 17, 2010 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to St. Petersburg, met at the Constantine Palace with President Dmitry Medvedev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and with the OSCE Minsk Group in the residence allotted to the President of Azerbaijan.
January 13-14, 2011 the CEO of the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Vanin visited Baku and held talks with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan H.A.Halafov on the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on mutual provision of real estate to house diplomatic missions.
January 22, 2011 the head of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Naryshkin paid a visit to Baku and was received by Ilham Aliyev and the head of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan R.Mehtiev. Naryshkin took part in the opening ceremony of Russian Information and Cultural Center.
February 4-5, 2011 A.V.Kelin, Director of the Fourth CIS Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation visited Baku to participate in the next round of ministerial talks on Russian-Azerbaijani relations and regional issues. Kelin held talks with Deputy Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan H.A.Halafov and A.B.Azimov and had a conversation with the head of the International Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan N. Mammadov.
March 17, 2011 in Moscow consultations were held between the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mikhail Vanin and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan H. Halafov. According to their results, the text of the agreement on the conditions of the placement and maintenance of diplomatic missions was agreed.
May 26-28, 2011 Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and President of the National Olympic Committee of Russia Alexander Zhukov was in Baku. He met with President Ilham Aliyev, as well as the heads of the sports departments of Azerbaijan.
June 24, 2011 Ilham Aliyev visited Kazan to participate in a meeting of the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He also held meetings with the leaders of Tatarstan on cooperation between Azerbaijan and Tatarstan.
June 27-28, 2011 the Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev visited Baku. He was received by President Ilham Aliyev and had a meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan Ramil Usubov. During the visit, an Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministries of Internal Affairs was signed.
July 8, 2011 Foreign Minister Lavrov was in Baku. He conveyed a personal message to Ilham Aliyev from Russian President Medvedev on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
July 17-18, 2011, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov paid an official visit to Moscow. He held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and a meeting with the presidential envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin. During the visit, the exchange of instruments of ratification of the Treaty on the State Border between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan was held, and a protocol on consultations between the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan was signed.
August 9, 2011 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Sochi and had a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev.
October 3-4, 2011 Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev visited Azerbaijan. The Russian Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijan Republic R.Usubov held a workshop in Guba on co-operation in the internal affairs of the two countries in the fight against crime in the areas surrounding the Russian-Azerbaijani state border.
October 4-5, 2011 Deputy Prime Minister and presidential envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District Alexander Khloponin visited Baku. He was accompanied by the heads of Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia, as well as the chairman of the Government of Karachay-Cherkessia. The delegation was received by Ilham Aliyev and had a conversation with Prime Minister of Azerbaijan A.Rasi-Zadeh. Khloponin also met with the chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Pashazade and visited Baku Slavic University. Agreements were signed between Dagestan, Ingushetia, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic and Azerbaijan on trade-economic, scientific-technical, cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Khloponin attended the presentation of investment projects of the North Caucasus Federal District of the Russian Federation. Business representatives of the delegation held meetings with relevant institutions and the business community of Azerbaijan.
October 9-10, 2011 the head of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Naryshkin was in Baku. He was received by the President of Azerbaijan, attended the opening of the Baku International Humanitarian Forum, the presentation of the book of the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan "Humanitarian Challenges of the XXI Century" and the ceremony of awarding the Order of Friendship to the Director General of the Azerbaijani news agency "AzerTAdzh", A.Aslanov.
January 19, 2012 Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov was in Moscow on a working visit. He held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. An agreement on mutual provision of real estate for placement of diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan and Russia was signed.
January 23, 2012 Ilham Aliyev paid a working visit to Russia (Sochi). A meeting of the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was held.
April 3-4, 2012 an official visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took place, timed for the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Lavrov was received by Ilham Aliyev, had a meeting with Prime Minister A.Rasi-Zadeh and the chairman of the Milli Majlis Asadov and held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov. Following the talks, the ministers adopted a joint statement. A presentation of the collection of existing documents in Russian-Azerbaijani relations of 1992-2012 was held. The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs visited the Baku branch of Moscow State University, where he met with students and teachers.
April 8-9, 2012 chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko was in Baku on an official visit. She met with President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister A.Rasi-Zadeh and the chairman of the Milli Majlis Asadov, visited the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and was awarded the title "Honorary Doctor" of Baku State University. During the ceremony, Matviyenko made a speech to the faculty and students of Baku State University.
June 20, 2012 the head of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Slutsky was in Baku. He met with President Ilham Aliyev and the head of the Milli Majlis Asadov.
July 7-9, 2012 Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin was in Baku on an official visit. The President of Azerbaijan awarded Naryshkin the "Dostlug" ("Friendship") Order for outstanding achievements in the development and strengthening of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Russia. At the same time, the Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi was awarded the same Order. Naryshkin also held talks on the development of bilateral relations with the chairman of the Milli Majlis Asadov and met with the head of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan R.Mehtiev and Bishop Alexander of Baku and Azerbaijan.
The Chairman of the State Duma of Russia took part in the graduation ceremony of the first graduates of the Baku branch of Moscow State University and met with students and faculty of the Baku Slavic University, where he was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of BSU.
On the eve of the visit to Baku, the first joint meeting was held of the relevant committees – the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations with Compatriots and the Committee on Foreign Relations and Inter-parliamentary Relations of the Milli Majlis – which discussed issues of cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries.
August 15-16, 2012 Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was in Baku and was received by President Ilham Aliyev.
