Relations between the countries, including relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, are based on culture, so cultural ties are essential for interstate cooperation and they should never be cut, Russian film director Yuri Vasilyev said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza during the opening of the Days of Russian Cinema in Baku.
"I think that right now culture may be the most important instrument that can help to establish dialogue. Unfortunately, people do not listen and do not want to listen each other today. If they could just listen to everyone, and listen someone else's position and maybe reconsider their opinion, it would be very useful," he said.
He also discussed the Azerbaijani capital. "I live in 'Hilton-Baku' hotel, and when I came there U remembered that 40 years ago, in 1976, Baku hosted the first tour of the Moscow Academic Theatre of Satire and I lived in 'Intourist' hotel, which was located right here. And I remember how we went to 'Palace of Congresses', great Heydar Aliyev was still alive, Andrei Mironov was still alive, we watched his performance in 'Figaro'," he told.
"Today I felt nostalgia. I can tell a lot of good things about Baku, about Baku residents," he noted.
He expressed hope that Azerbaijani filmmakers will also be able to come to Moscow in order to show what they do. "It's a mutual exchange. You can't lock yourself in your own world," he stressed.
