Russian MFA: Moscow interested in close cooperation with Baku

Russia is interested in close cooperation with Azerbaijan, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing.

Zakharova said that Russia is interested in close interaction with Azerbaijan across all regional formats. The diplomat noted that Moscow views closer cooperation with Baku, including in the context of security.

"We are interested in close interaction with Azerbaijan in various regional formats: the CIS and the SCO, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), within the 'Caspian Five,' and the '3+3' regional cooperation platform," Maria Zakharova said.

Zakharova emphasized that the participation of Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov in meetings of the Eurasian Economic Union has become a welcome tradition. According to her, this contributes to the strengthening and development of dialogue between the countries.

"We see an intensification of dialogue between Baku and the Eurasian Economic Union, as evidenced by the now well-established tradition of the Azerbaijani Prime Minister participating as an honorary guest in meetings of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council," Maria Zakharova said.

The diplomat also positively assessed Baku's cooperation within the CIS framework. The diplomat noted the active collaboration within the commonwealth. She highlighted the importance of Baku joining the final documents of the Dushanbe summit on combating crime and terrorism.

"We welcome Baku's accession to a number of the final documents of the October 10th summit in Dushanbe. This includes, among others, the statements by the heads of state on cooperation in combating transnational crime," Maria Zakharova said.

The diplomat also noted the successful hosting of the third CIS Games in Azerbaijan.