Azerbaijan notes the great demand for the Russian language in the republic and is making efforts to preserve it. This was stated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting with the heads of Russian media at the TASS Editors-in-Chief Club held the day before.
"As for teaching in Russian: yes, it's a conscious policy. We do it, of course, first of all for ourselves, so that those who want to study in Russian - both Azerbaijanis and non-Azerbaijanis - have this opportunity," Aliyev said. - "The demand for the Russian sector, as we call it, in schools is large. And, as I said, both Azerbaijanis and non-Azeris are educated. More than 140 thousand children and more than 15 thousand Azerbaijanis study in the Russian department in higher education institutions".
He also mentioned that there is a state university in Azerbaijan - Slavic University, where they first of all study Russian and train teachers of Russian and other Slavic languages.
Mutual cooperation
Aliyev said the declaration he signed on Russia-Azerbaijan allied cooperation includes a clause on humanitarian cooperation, and this cooperation is mutual.
The Azerbaijani president also drew attention to the fact that there are departments of education in the Azerbaijani language, about 80 schools in Russia as well. "We welcome it so that Azerbaijanis and citizens of Russia, those who work here and their children could also study in their language," he added.
According to him, this is a reciprocal process, going completely in the spirit of cooperation, he also drew attention to the fact that in comparison with other countries of the post-Soviet space is an example of how this issue should be treated. "It concerns not only education, it concerns the attitude to the Russian language in general," the president of Azerbaijan stressed.
"It is very important that in the years when we are no longer in one state, and a new generation has already arrived, we have managed to preserve it. And we will do everything to preserve it for the future," Aliyev added.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS