President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin met with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Moscow today, according to the Russia presidential website.
Ilham Aliyev will attend the 2018 FIFA World Cup's opening ceremony at the Luzhniki Stadium on June 14.
The heads of state discussed bilateral relations at the meeting, which took place in Kremlin.
Putin said at a meeting that the political cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan is stable. He noted that last year the trade turnover between the two countries grew by 34.4%, with an increase of about 19% in the first quarter of 2018. "That is a very good pace that we need to support," the Russian leader stressed.
Putin noted that humanitarian ties between the two countries are developing through public organizations.
In addition, he expressed his delight at seeing President Aliyev in Moscow.
Aliyev, in his turn, first congratulated the Russian leader on the Russia Day and the successful completion of preparations for the 2020 FIFA World Cup. "I’m confident that the 2020 FIFA World Cup will be very successful and all the guests will be satisfied," he said.
Azerbaijan's president also expressed satisfaction with the development of relations between the two countries. "Today is also a good opportunity to exchange views on issues on the agenda," President Aliyev noted, adding that there are also plans to expand economic cooperation.
President Aliyev then hailed positive cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia in the humanitarian sphere.
Putin said that Moscow is preparing for the next visit of the Azerbaijani president, which will take place on August 30.
"As for our bilateral relations, we’ll be discussing this in detail during your visit to Russia on August 30,” he added.
