Second meeting of Russian-Azerbaijani Expert Council held in Moscow

The second meeting of the Russian-Azerbaijani Expert Council (RAEC) "30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan: The path covered and prospects for bilateral relations in the context of regional and global cooperation" took place in Moscow.

According to Report, the meeting was organized by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Centre for Analysis of International Relations (CAIR) of Azerbaijan.

The event was opened by RIAC Director General Andrei Kortunov and Centre for Analysis of International Relations Chairman Farid Shafiyev.

Speaking at the opening ceremony Ambassador for Special Assignments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elshad Iskenderov, Milli Majlis MP Nizami Safarov and Russian State Duma Deputy Kazbek Taisayev emphasized that Azerbaijani-Russian relations are based on a solid foundation of mutual respect of interests, historical roots and high level of trust between the leaders of the two countries.

Taisayev said Russia highly values President Ilham Aliyev's contribution to the development of the bilateral relations laid by the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. Next year Russia will celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, which will provide an opportunity to discuss the role of this great personality in our common history.

Ambassador for Special Assignments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elshad Iskandarov said the sides have built a stable formula for strategic partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan during 30 years of interaction, which may be a model of relations between the sovereign players in a multipolar world.

In an informal and interactive dialogue, the speakers considered the approaches of Azerbaijan and Russia to the development of security architecture in the South Caucasus in the context of the new reality.

In this regard, they once again stressed the common position of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation on the need to implement the post-conflict agenda and contribute to the swift conclusion of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia based on the principles of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and respect for sovereignty, which was reflected in the statements made by the sides at the talks in Prague and Sochi.

The experts also noted that the prolongation of this process creates a negative background for additional hotbeds of tension in the region and for using the situation for destructive actions by extra-regional players in the region.

The RAEC members agreed upon the necessity for strengthening the cooperation among the parties in the economic development of the region, for creating, in this context, an atmosphere of confidence and lasting peace in the South Caucasus region and bilateral cooperation for establishing global and regional transport-logistic communications. In this context, the parties stressed the importance of implementing the provisions of trilateral statements on ensuring unblocking and further smooth operation of regional communications, as well as the increasing role of the transport corridors "North-South" and "East-West", especially in the turbulent international transport and logistics system.