Baku, September 1, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that bilateral relations between the two countries are developing successfully and dynamically. The head of state said Azerbaijan attaches great importance to Russian President Vladimir Putin's visiting Azerbaijan – on the day of his country's national holiday Russia Day – to attend the opening ceremony of the first European Games, describing this as a manifestation of the high level of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Saying that all issues related to cooperation are deal with promptly and effectively, President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of reciprocal visits on various levels.

The head of said Azerbaijan and Russia are actively and successfully cooperating within international organizations, hailing the significance of regular consultations conducted by the two countries amid rapidly developing global and regional events.

The President said: "This is an obvious example of strategic partnership which covers cooperation in all fields, including political, economic, energy and humanitarian ones between the two countries. We want to effectively and successfully develop bilateral relations between the two countries even further."

President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that the meeting will also feature fruitful and constructive discussions.

The Russian Foreign Minister conveyed President Vladimir Putin's most sincere greetings to President Ilham Aliyev. Sergei Lavrov said: "President of the Russian Federation recalls with pleasure his participation in the opening ceremony of the first European Games which was excellently organized, as well as his meeting with you as part of his visit to the country. Azerbaijan and Russia are partner countries in the South Caucasus and the Caspian Sea basin, and share almost similar positions on almost all the important and complex issues of international relations."

Highlighting the importance of discussing issues of mutual activities between the two countries' foreign ministries within the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe and other international organizations, Sergei Lavrov noted that his country highly appreciates successfully developing inter-parliamentary cooperation. Touching upon the relations in various spheres, the Russian FM said: "We express our gratitude for the excellent organization of the voyage of three military vessels of the Caspian Fleet to Azerbaijan in August this year. We hope that our Azerbaijani friends will participate in the exhibition of military-technical products to be held in Sverdlovsk region in this September."

The Russian FM praised successful bilateral cooperation in humanitarian, educational and cultural fields, noting that it “strengthens close ties between our nations”. Highlighting his speech before heading to Baku on the occasion of the Knowledge Day at Moscow Institute of International Relations, where President Ilham Aliyev and he himself studied, the Russian FM underlined that the rector of the Institute once more recalled with pleasure Ilham Aliyev's initiative to hold the first meeting of the graduates of the university in Azerbaijan.

The Russian Foreign Minister touched upon the issues of economic cooperation, and said that despite the international situation these relationships are developing and noted the importance of activities of the Intergovernmental State Commission on economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.

He expressed satisfaction with the growth in the volume of agricultural products Azerbaijan sends to the Russian Federation. Sergei Lavrov noted that decisions taken by Azerbaijan helped Russian companies to increase the volume of international transportation.

Describing the meeting as a good opportunity to discuss bilateral relations, including the situation in the region, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Russian FM expressed his hope that some progress will be achieved in the settlement of the dispute.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, and asked the FM to communicate his greetings to the President of Russia.