Presidents Aliyev and Putin to meet in Sochi
By Aynur Jafarova
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet in Sochi, Russia on August 9.
The presidents will discuss the cooperation issues between Russia and Azerbaijan, joint steps to promote the promising and mutually beneficial projects, first of all, in the fields of energy, investment and interregional cooperation, the official website of Russian president reported on August 8.
Putin will also meet with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on the same day, according to the message.
The two sides will exchange views on the further development of bilateral cooperation in political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres. They will focus on the process of Armenia's joining the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty.
The meetings follow the recent tensions on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
Armenian armed forces aggravated tensions along the frontline by attacking the Azerbaijani positions. Armenia began to escalate tensions on the border areas on July 31. Sporadic fighting has continued ever since. Thirteen Azerbaijani servicemen were killed and several others injured during the clashes between two sides.
Armenian forces retreated after fierce fighting and suffering from heavy losses. Armenia hasn't released yet the exact number of casualties.
For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor.