Russian President Vladimir Putin payed a short working visit to Baku on Thursday and held a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin payed a short working visit to Baku on Thursday and held a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
Diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan were established on April 4, 1992.
Relations between the countries are based on the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation, which was signed on July 3, 1997. Further development of treaty provisions was reflected in the Declaration on Friendship and Strategic Partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan, signed on July 3, 2008.
Azerbaijan is an important strategic partner of Russia. The relations between the two countries are based on the principles of equal rights and good-neighborliness, centuries-old traditions of friendship and mutual respect. The development of interaction between the two countries objectively contributes to the strengthening of stability and security in the South Caucasus and the Caspian region.
Cooperation is developing at the highest level. Putin came to Azerbaijan on a working visit on August 13, 2013. A number of agreements were signed, including cooperation in the field of oil and gas production and the construction of an automobile bridge at the border of two states. The sides also discussed political issues, including the situation around Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
On February 6-8, 2014, Aliyev and his wife visited the Russian resort city of Sochi and attended events dedicated to the opening of the 22nd Winter Olympic Games.
Aliyev visited Sochi again on August 8-10, 2014. The heads of Russia and Azerbaijan discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues during the visit. Special attention was paid to the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Aliyev attended the 4th summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states in the Russian southern city of Astrakhan on September 29-30, 2014.
On May 8-9, 2015, the Azerbaijani president attended the celebrations in Moscow marking the 70th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany.
On June 12-13, 2015, Putin paid a working visit to Baku. Issues of bilateral cooperation and international affairs were discussed during the summit. The president also took part in the opening ceremony of the first European Games, an international multi-sport event, in Baku.
On June 20, 2016, Aliyev visited the Russian city of St. Petersburg. During the visit, he had talks with Putin on the current situation in bilateral relations, humanitarian cooperation and ways of solving the Karabakh problem.
Putin visited Azerbaijan on August 8, 2016. He met with his Azerbaijani counterpart and also participated in the first trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. The heads of states of the three countries discussed a wide range of issues of the international agenda and specific cooperation projects. The parties signed a joint declaration as a result of the summit.
The president of Azerbaijan came to Sochi on a working visit on July 21-22, 2017.
On November 1, 2017, Putin and Aliyev met in Tehran before a summit of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan.
On December 26, 2017, Aliyev attended an informal meeting of the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries at the Russian presidential residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, located in the Moscow Region.
Aliyev visited Moscow on June 13-14, 2018. He met with Putin and took part in the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup.
On September 1, 2018, Aliyev came to Russia on an official visit. Various issues of the bilateral agenda, prospects for the development of trade and economic cooperation were discussed during the high-level negotiations. The sides exchanged views regarding the current international and regional problems. Following the meeting, Putin and Aliyev signed a joint statement on priority areas of economic cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan. A package of intergovernmental and commercial documents was also signed during the visit.
The bilateral dialogue between the two nations is being also actively maintained between foreign ministries of the two countries.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov paid an official visit to Russia on March 5-7, 2017.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made an official visit to Azerbaijan on November 19-20, 2017. Lavrov was, in particular, received by Aliyev.
Interparliamentary links between the two countries are also steadily developing. The countries maintain numerous contacts at the level of heads of key departments.
The chairman of Azerbaijan's parliament, Ogtay Asadov, came to Moscow on February 7, 2018. He met with the chairman of Russian lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, and also took part in events dedicated to the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.
Volodin visited Baku on June 24-25, 2018. He was received by Aliyev and also met with Asadov.
Trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan is developing successfully. Azerbaijan is the main trade partner of Russia among the CIS countries, which are not members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
According to Russia's Federal Customs Service, the country's trade with Azerbaijan amounted to $2.627 billion in 2017, including Russian exports ($1.935 billion) and imports ($692.1 million).
Trade between Russia and Azerbaijan amounted to $1.4 billion from January to July 2018, including $928.3 million in Russian exports and $444.6 million in imports.
Russian exports to Azerbaijan consists of food and agricultural products; metals and products made of these metals; machinery, equipment and transport vehicles; wood and pulp and paper products; chemical industry products; mineral products.
Russian imports from Azerbaijan mostly food and agricultural products; mineral products; metals and products made of these metals; machinery, equipment and transport vehicles; textiles and footwear; chemical industry products.
Russia's direct investments in Azerbaijan amount to $1.5 billion. About 700 joint ventures operate in Azerbaijan, one-third of them are purely Russian.
Many Russian energy companies such as Gazprom, Transneft, and LUKoil are successfully operating in Azerbaijan.
Cooperation in the industrial sphere is deepening. Russian trucks and engines manufacturer Kamaz organized the production of licensed trucks and their service maintenance at the Ganja Automotive Plant in Azerbaijan. Russia's R-Pharm pharmaceutical company has invested $74 million in the construction of a drug manufacturing facility in Azerbaijan, which will open in 2019. Russia's Gazprombank participates in the development of the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park in Azerbaijan, with the investments amounting to about $750 million.
One of the most promising joint projects is the creation of the International North-South Transport Corridor, a significant part of which will go through Russia and Azerbaijan. The corridor will connect the Western Europe with Asia. Its total length will be more than 7,000 kilometers (4,300 miles).
Contacts between business communities, including small and medium-sized businesses, are expanding. The Russian-Azerbaijani Business Council supported 42 joint projects totaling more than $450 million in 2017.
An important element of bilateral cooperation is the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, which held its last meeting on December 16, 2016 in Baku.
Military and defense industry cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan is also developing. In 2003, the heads of the military departments of the two countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation. The volume of military products purchased by Azerbaijan from Russia exceeds $5 billion. Russia supplied to Azerbaijan T-72 tanks, BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, multipurpose helicopters of Ka and Mi series, air defense systems, electronic warfare devices and other equipment.
There is an exchange of visits between the defense ministers of both countries on a regular basis.
Azerbaijan supports inter-regional relations with 78 of Russia's 85 regions.
Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation in cultural and educational sectors also continues to develop. education in Russian language is available in schools and universities across Azerbaijan.
A branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University is working in Baku since 2010 and a branch of Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University � since 2015.
The Baku International Humanitarian Forum is held under the patronage of Russian and Azerbaijani presidents, where topical issues of development of modern society are discussed.
Azerbaijan annually holds a lot of events in the field of culture, such as dramatic, opera, ballet performances, variety shows with the participation of leading Russian artists.
