President Aliyev recalls "serious opportunities" for normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations

CHRONICLE  25 May 2023 - 23:12

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Moscow, on May 25.

Speaking at the meeting, President of Russia Vladimir Putin said, according to Azertag:

- Dear Ilham Heydarovich. Dear Colleagues.

First of all, I would like to welcome all of you again and thank the President of Azerbaijan for deciding to join our work within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union – as already mentioned, formally in the status of a guest. But Ilham Heydarovich is actually right, this is a very conditional title because the level and nature of the relations between Azerbaijan and all member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union is of a serious and deep nature. Trade and economic ties are developing progressively and serve the development of relations between all our peoples. I would very much like this to be continued in the future, especially because the potential for regional cooperation is very high.

In general, Russian-Azerbaijani relations, if we speak about the bilateral basis, are at a high level and are also progressively developing on the principles of equality, taking into account the interests of each other and in accordance with the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed in February 2022. We are all very happy about this.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Heydar Aliyevich Aliyev. You know our attitude towards this political figure of both the Soviet Union and independent Azerbaijan. He was an outstanding political figure, a unifying figure in the history of our countries. And it is also well known that we worthily celebrated this anniversary in Russia. Exhibitions were held both in the State Duma and the Federation Council with documentaries shown on television. Many events took place in the regions of the Russian Federation, and not only in the capital but also in Kazan, Astrakhan, Dagestan, at BAM, where Heydar Aliyevich is also remembered, including the solemn departure of the Moscow-Tynda train and events held at Angoya, where the station was named after Heydar Aliyev, who supervised the construction of the BAM as First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers. This is an outstanding construction site of the entire Soviet Union, and it is associated with the name of Heydar Aliyev.

This is what I would like to say at the beginning, and after the press leaves us, we will talk about other issues. Please.

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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Thank you very much, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich.

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude again for the invitation to attend the Eurasian Economic Union summit. As noted today, this is the first time I have been participating in a summit of this organization, although, as we have already exchanged views with colleagues, we work regularly on the platforms of the CIS and other international organizations and, of course, in a bilateral format.

I would also like to express my gratitude for such respect for the memory of Heydar Aliyev. We appreciate this very much, everyone in Azerbaijan knows this very well. Anniversary events, as you noted, were held in Moscow, state institutions and in the regions.

I must say that Heydar Aliyev and you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, laid the foundations for the current level of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan. It was after your visit to Azerbaijan in 2001 that our relations reached a qualitatively new level. Today, we already characterize these relations as allied, not only de facto, but also de jure. As you noted, at the beginning of the last year, we signed the Declaration on Allied Interaction, which we are implementing. It is the most important political document that reflects the spirit and nature of our relations and the aspiration of our countries for even closer interaction.

Of course, today we will also talk about regional issues. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the efforts of the Russian side towards normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We very much appreciate these efforts, and the fact that you will participate in the trilateral meeting today also shows that the Russian Federation attaches great importance to Azerbaijan and Armenia finally reaching a peace agreement. I think that after the recent statements of the Armenian leadership on the recognition of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, as well as the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, indicating specific figures for the area of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the issue of agreeing on other points of the peace treaty will be much smoother, because this was the main factor we could not come to an agreement on.

So once again, Vladimir Vladimirovich, I do hope that we will take another step in the trilateral format towards normalizing relations between the two countries today. As for the bilateral agenda, it is quite extensive. We will go over it in detail.

Thank you again for the invitation.

Caliber.Az