Interview by Maria Sidelnikova exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Vestnik Kavkaza took an interview with the TV journalist and chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Pushkov, about his visit to Baku, the official visit by the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov to Moscow and Russian-Azerbaijani relations.
- Several weeks ago you visited Baku. Please tell us about the trip.
- I was invited to Baku by the head of PACE Azerbaijani delegation. We are cooperate with the Azerbaijani delegation of PACE; we belong to one group of European democrats. I was invited as the head of the Russian delegation. I met President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the head of the presidential administration Mr. Mekhtiyev and representatives of the Foreign Ministry. We discussed a wide spectrum of problems. Bilateral relations between Russia and Azerbaijan were discussed, as well as the prospects for Azerbaijan’s participation in the Eastern Partnership, relations between Azerbaijan and the EU and regional problems – first of all, the Iranian issue, the developments in Turkey, and the Syrian crisis. We touched on various problems and concluded that the positions of Russia and Azerbaijan were close on many issues, of course not on all of them, but on many problems. I believe Azerbaijan can be considered a strategic partner for Russia, while we can be considered a strategic partner of Azerbaijan in the region and in the sphere of relations with Europe and the European Atlantic Alliance.
- Could you sum up the results of the visit by the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to Moscow?
- I didn’t participate in the negotiations with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan. I know that in general the results are positive. It is well-known that we had a difficult period in our relations connected with the shutdown of the Qabala radio location station and some other issues. I think today we are beginning to come out of that period. Various countries have difficulties in their relations sometimes. It is important that these difficulties don’t determine the content of relations. We are overcoming the negative background which appeared as a result of the fact that there was no mutual agreement on the Qabala RLS. Our relations are not based only on this factor; we are beginning to cooperate on regional and global problems at a new level. Azerbaijan is obviously a very important state. It is situated in a region which is key in the world politics; I believe Azerbaijan has great potential. We could rely on each other: we – on Azerbaijan’s potential, Azerbaijan – on the potential of Russia as one of the leading powers of global politics. I would say that the prospects for our relations with Azerbaijan are better than they were a year ago, for instance. The contacts with Baku confirm this
