The working visit of President Vladimir Putin to Baku will be historic for the bilateral relations of the countries, experts say. Vestnik Kavkaza discussed this topic with experts from Russia and Azerbaijan.
Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of International Studies, MGIMO, Leonid Gusev, named economic, military, regional and geo-political reasons for the importance of Putin's visit to Baku. The importance of economic cooperation is also testified to by the July visit of the head of "Rosneft" Igor Sechin to Azerbaijan. The second question is, in his opinion, military cooperation, which is why the delegation includes Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. "Why take Shoigu with you? Because recently there was information that Azerbaijan and Turkey will create a unified army, and Georgia may join as well. I think that the leadership of Russia wants to find out what it is, because you understand that Turkey is a NATO country."
Professor of the Western University Fikret Sadikhov drew attention to the fact that Putin's visit is important in itself, regardless of its content, as it is his first visit after his election. The timing of the visit is also important. It takes place on the eve of the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, which, in the opinion of the expert, speaks about open, explicit support for the current president Ilham Aliyev.
