Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev noted the continuation of positive dynamics in his country's relations with Russia.
"Six months after your last visit to Baku, we can state with satisfaction the continuation of positive dynamics in our relations," the head of state said as he received Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday.
Aliyev recalled that he had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 10. "We congratulated each other personally on our common Victory, the victory over fascism," the Azerbaijani president said.
The Azerbaijani leader stressed that his country counts on further cooperation with Russia to normalize the situation in the region. "We very much expect to continue in cooperation with Russia - our strategic partner - to work actively to normalize the situation in the region. In terms of the military aspect, we can consider the situation already normalized, but in terms of political, economic, transport and other aspects of future interaction, of course, there is a lot to do. We naturally expect that Russia, as our friend, strategic partner and neighbor, and as a country, whose peacekeepers are in the territory of Azerbaijan today, will further contribute to reducing tension," he said.
According to Aliyev, the new situation that has emerged in the South Caucasus "gives new features" to bilateral relations. "We actively cooperate as close neighbors, good friends," he added.
The Azerbaijani president thanked the Russian side for promptly resolving the issue of supplying the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to his country, stressing that this drug "is now gaining more and more popularity in the world." "And the fact that we have access to it will certainly help us deal with this scourge more quickly," he said.
Domestic activities
Azerbaijan has been working hard to restore transportation infrastructure in the region since the end of hostilities in Karabakh, Aliyev said.
"Recently [a] trilateral meeting of the deputy prime ministers of the three countries [Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia] took place, where, I think, important steps were made to implement an important point of the joint declaration (trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, - TASS) - opening transport corridors. For our part, we are actively working to restore the railway infrastructure and road infrastructure. We have set specific deadlines and will try to meet them so that this project would soon become operational," he said.
According to his assessment, the post-conflict situation dictates the need for closer contacts at all levels. "All this leads to the fact that we see positive development, strengthening of security, strengthening of stability, minimization of risks of resumption of hostilities and the desire to turn this page, the black page of our history," the Azerbaijani president stressed, adding that Baku was "ready for it."
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan, for its part, "not only in words, but also in deeds," is making all efforts to "ensure that the post-conflict situation occurs in a calm atmosphere, without nervousness, and taking into account the need to build future relations in the South Caucasus region, based on stability and predictability".
Baku and Yerevan have disputed the ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region announced its secession from the Azerbaijani SSR. On September 27, 2020, the situation in the region escalated and active hostilities began. On November 9, a trilateral statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on a cease-fire was signed. It stipulated that the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would hold their positions, a number of areas would be transferred to Baku's control, and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS