Ilham Aliyev met with President Vladimir Putin

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has started his official visit to the Russian Federation.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin had a meeting at Bocharov Ruchey state residence in the city of Sochi.

The heads of state addressed the meeting.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin said:

- Dear Ilham Heydar oglu.

Dear friends.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Sochi. I would like to stress that our meetings are held regularly, and this is only natural since we enjoy extensive interaction, which we call a strategic partnership. Our relations are also developing along both the political lines and in the economy. Last year trade between our countries grew by 34 percent, even over 34 percent, whereas in the first six months of this year the sales volumes of civilian industry products grew by 20 percent. These are very good indicators. Naturally, we always have topics for discussion, and I am very glad that you accepted our invitation and came to Russia today. Welcome.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Thank you very much, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich.

First of all I would like to thank you for your invitation to visit Russia. I am always glad to meet with you. As you said, we meet regularly, and our meetings give an impetus to our relations. We are satisfied with the level of interaction in all areas. Our relations are developing fully and very effectively. There is active political dialogue.

You have noted the growth of trade, which speaks of the positive trends in our countries’ economies and also of a large potential for economic cooperation. I am confident that our trade will continue to grow in the coming years. We cooperate in the energy sector, and in the transport sector.

Of course, we are also going to discuss issues related to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and regional problems.

So the agenda is broad enough. I am confident that our meeting today will give an additional impetus to our relations. Thank you again for the invitation.