Ilham Aliyev hosted a reception in honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has hosted a reception in honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is paying a visit to Azerbaijan.

Addressing the reception, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

Distinguished guests, dear friends!

The visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Azerbaijan is coming to an end. I think the general consensus is that the visit has been very successful and fruitful. We have discussed the issues of bilateral relations and the future development of these relations. Members of the Russian delegation have had the opportunity to communicate closely and discuss industry-specific issues. Today, a lot has been said at the press conference and during official meetings. Vladimir Vladimirovich and I have conducted extensive negotiations and a broad exchange of views on many issues of bilateral relations and regional matters, security issues and future cooperation between the two countries.

The visit has reaffirmed the strategic nature of our relations, the friendly nature of our relations. We are friendly countries, we are neighbors. We are located in the region of the Caspian Sea, in the Caucasus region. Therefore, the Caspian and Caucasian issues, of course, always have a special place in our relations. Also the successful collaboration, cooperation and coordination of our efforts largely precondition the stability of our region.

We are friends, we are partners. Today's visit has reaffirmed that again. The documents signed will also contribute to the confident, versatile and successful development of our relations.

But in addition to all the official aspects of the visit, I must say that Vladimir Vladimirovich and I have had a lively exchange of views on all matters. In a friendly, open and very cordial atmosphere we discussed the most important issues of bilateral relations. The visit of the President of Russia to Azerbaijan is a landmark event in itself. And such a busy and very fruitful visit, the results of which will be manifested in the future of our relations, is even more important, of course.

Very much has been said today. I wouldn’t like to bore you any further. I would like to once again express my gratitude to Vladimir Vladimirovich for accepting the invitation to visit Azerbaijan, for making this visit, for the negotiations and the exchange of views we have had.

I want to thank all members of the Russian delegation for their hard work and wish the people of Russia and the Russian state all the best, and good health and well-being to the President of Russia.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said:

- Dear President of Azerbaijan!

Dear friends and colleagues, I will not repeat everything that has been said. I just want to emphasize that Azerbaijan and Russia have long-term, if not centuries-old, relationship. Our people have always been close to each other, not only through trade. We lived in the same country for many years. And, of course, this could not but leave a mark on our national identities and our culture. This is mutual interaction, complementarity and mutual development. We have just visited one of our small but highly efficient and modern ships. I was surprised to find out that the commander of this ship is ethnic Azerbaijani. I did not know that. It is one of the modern and very effective units of the Russian fleet as a whole. And this is the case in almost all spheres. We went for a walkabout in the old city. There were Russian people from Novgorod there. They came up to me, to the President, and spoke about how they feel here.

By the way, congratulations to the President of Azerbaijan and all of you, dear colleagues, on the way Baku looks now! Of course, it is a modern, developing and interesting city with its own identity. And this what all of Azerbaijan has turned into in recent years. I want to express my confidence in the fact that not only our conversations and our visit today – which has been very trusting and friendly, of course – but also the entire future, the historical future of the relations between our peoples and countries will be on an upward trend.

Of course, much depends on how we are going to work. Much still remains to be done, there are many very complex problems which at first glance seem impossible to resolve. We have inherited them from the past. But if we have good will and desire, if we take on responsibility before our countries and the future of our peoples, then surely all the solutions will be found.

I know how this was treated by President Heydar Aliyev, with whom we had a very good personal relationship. He was a man who certainly made a huge contribution to the development of the Soviet Union and, of course, to the formation of modern Azerbaijan. The current president is continuing his course, including the course towards the development of Russian-Azerbaijani relations.

Let me propose a toast to Russian-Azerbaijani relations and to the President of Azerbaijan.