Baku, July 20, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has arrived in Russia on a working visit at the invitation of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

According to AZERTAC, at the Vnukovo-2 International Airport, President Ilham Aliyev was met by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko and other officials.

A meeting has been held between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said:

- Happy Eid al-Adha! I congratulate you, all the best.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

President Vladimir Putin: We have a great holiday next year – the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Thank you for agreeing to come. Thank God, our relations are picking up after the coronavirus. I mean the economy first of all. Last year there was a certain decline, but there is a steady growth and recovery now.

Russia confidently occupies one of the leading places in the economy, and the intergovernmental commission is working hard. There are many areas of cooperation.

In the near future, we plan to send our delegation to Azerbaijan, and it will deal with these issues already in Baku. They meet regularly at different locations. This will be a mixed group working on different directions. This refers to industry, transport, infrastructure, and some other issues.

We are cooperating now, and more actively in the fight against coronavirus. I think 100,000 doses of the vaccine have already been delivered.

President Ilham Aliyev: Even more.

President Vladimir Putin: And we are working to launch joint production in Azerbaijan.

Of course, the issue of resolving the situation in the region remains one of the most important issues. I know that you are paying great attention and importance to that, of course, and I want to thank you for finding compromise solutions. They are always the most difficult, but if we want a settlement, and we all do, then we must follow this path. So far, we have been able to do this, for which I want to thank you.

I am very glad to see you. Welcome!

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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Thank you. Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich. First of all, thank you for the invitation. I am also very glad to see you. This is another good opportunity to discuss important issues of our interaction. Thank you for your congratulations. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all Muslims of Russia on Eid al-Adha. This is a holiday of solidarity, a holiday of unity.

On the bilateral agenda, I completely agree with you, of course, that we are moving forward very confidently. The turnover grew in the first six months. This is very important because last year we had a drop of more than 10 percent. We are also actively building up cooperation in transport and transit relations. I am told that about 20 percent more cargo has been transported along the North-South transport corridor than last year. So the corridor is already working in large volumes, one might say.

I would like to thank you for your help in the fight against coronavirus. We have already received more than 200,000 doses of Sputnik-V from Russia, and deliveries are still pending. I know that

there are a lot of applicants, because this vaccine has proven effective. Of course, it is also very difficult to provide it to everyone, but as friends and partners, I want to once again express my gratitude that we are in the forefront among recipients of the vaccine.

I would also like to inform you that this year has seen the first graduation of the branch of the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. This is a significant event. Time flies by. And more than a thousand students are attending our two branches – Moscow State University and Sechenov Medical University. There are more than 15,000 Azerbaijanis studying in Russia. Another 16,000 students in Azerbaijan go to Russian language departments. So this is such a large cohort of Azerbaijani youth which is already connected with Russia – through language, communication and education. I think this is very important in transferring our experience to the younger generation.

And of course, the topic of the post-conflict situation in the region. I would like to express my gratitude to you for your continuous attention to this issue, for your personal participation in resolving very important and sensitive issues. We have been in constant contact over the past eight months since the end of hostilities. I think that our personal communication in Moscow in January and by phone have played a very important role in stabilizing the situation. We are determined to ensure that the post-conflict period is as painless as possible. I think we are succeeding in that by common efforts.

Thank you again for the invitation and, of course, we will discuss important issues of interaction and regional problems.

President Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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The working visit of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Russia ended on 20 July.