President Aliyev: Stability, security in S. Caucasus mostly depend on close co-op between Russia, Azerbaijan

The stability and security of the entire South Caucasus region largely depend on the close cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev stated during a press briefing following talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, News.Az reports.

“We thoroughly discussed regional security issues in a limited-format meeting. Since September of last year, a completely new situation has emerged in the region. Azerbaijan has fully restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Naturally, this new situation opens up opportunities for establishing a durable and long-term peace in the South Caucasus. The stability and security of the entire South Caucasus region depend significantly on the close interaction between Russia and Azerbaijan,” the Azerbaijani leader emphasized.

President Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan has always paid special attention to humanitarian cooperation with Russia.

The head of state noted that there are 324 schools in Azerbaijan where education is conducted in Russian, with about 160,000 students enrolled. “More than 800,000 students study Russian as a second language. In 26 universities in Azerbaijan, there are departments offering education in Russian, with over 15,000 students enrolled. The branches of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov and Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov are functioning successfully. Today, we also discussed the development of relations in the field of education," the president added.

He also touched upon trade relations between Azerbaijan and Russia. President Aliyev stressed that the growth in trade volume between Azerbaijan and Russia highlights the significant potential for cooperation.

"The increase in trade volume, both last year and in the first six months of this year, indicates substantial potential for cooperation. We surpassed the $4 billion mark last year, and (during today’s meetings – ed.) we shared our opinions that this is certainly not the limit," he said.

The head of state underlined that the North-South project is of exceptional importance for the interstate relations between Baku and Moscow.

“We discussed in detail the implementation of the North-South project, which is crucial not only for our interstate relations but also for issues related to regional transport corridors and transport routes. I must note that in Azerbaijan, both the railway and road segments of the North-South corridor have been fully implemented and are functioning successfully. Currently, we are actively working on modernizing the railway section of this corridor to enhance its capacity. We are talking about the possibility of transporting 15 million tons of cargo per year and more,” he said.

The president stated that this year Azerbaijan has allocated approximately $120 million for the modernization of this railway section to achieve the required capacity.

President Aliyev also highlighted the historic significance of the current state visit of Putin to Azerbaijan.

“Undoubtedly, this visit is of a historic nature and will make a significant contribution to strengthening the friendly and allied relations between our countries,” the head of state added.

News.Az