A bilateral meeting has got underway between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi, the Kremlin press service reported.
During the talks, the Russian leader thanked his Azerbaijani counterpart for his attention to the development of the Russian language in the republic.
The volume of trade between Azerbaijan and Russia increased by 11% over the nine months of this year despite all COVID-19 pandemic issues and respective restrictions in the economy, Putin noted.
He said that the strategic partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan is developing quite successfully and the growth in bilateral trade is proof of this. "Next year, we will mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. And, naturally, it is an event we should celebrate," Putin said.
According to the Russian leader, the strategic partnership between the two countries "is developing quite successfully." "Suffice it to say that despite the pandemic and pandemic-related economic restrictions <…> our trade grew by 11% in the first nine months of this year. It is a good figure," Putin stressed, noting that around 900 Russian companies are operating in Azerbaijan and Russia is one of Azerbaijan’s leading trade and economic partners.
Vladimir Putin has noted the positive role of Russian peacekeepers in the settlement of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. "Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement <...> I think that our peacekeepers play a positive role, the Russian-Turkish center [to monitor the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire] operates effectively," Putin said on Friday, opening a bilateral meeting with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi.
Putin expressed regret that problems still sometimes emerge in Nagorno-Karabakh, occasionally there are victims. "Unfortunately, there are problems, incidents. Unfortunately, there are victims," the Russian leader said noting this conversation on the settlement of the situation in the region should be continued in a trilateral format. "Armenia's Prime Minister [Nikol Pashinyan] will join us shortly, and we will continue this discussion," he said.
According to Putin, it is necessary to discuss what has already been done, and what still needs to be fulfilled by everyone, "to prevent anything like this from happening again, [so that] conditions are created for alleviating and developing the situation in the region that would allow people to live in peace and countries - to develop."
The Russian leader pointed out that the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on the settlement of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh will be pivotal on Friday. "I have just spoken with my colleagues from the [Russian] government which you know well, and which deals with issues related to economic problems, with unblocking transport corridors [in the region]. I spoke with the defense minister, with the FSB chief, who is subordinate to the [Russian] Border Service, which makes a significant contribution to the settlement," Putin reported adding that there are many questions that have accumulated on this issue.
"I must note that this year, since the beginning of the activities of the Russian peacekeeping forces on November 10 last year, there have been no serious incidents in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers," Ilham Aliyev said.
