Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Recent debates on a letter of the two members of the Russian Duma to President Vladimir Putin on termination of 1921 Moscow Treaty have raised some questions about the future of relations between Baku and Moscow.

Maria Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Russia develops relations with Azerbaijan and it will only focus on what would improve the Azerbaijani-Russian relations.

Responding to a question on the request of the State Duma members about the termination of the agreement between Turkey and Russia, she said Russia will not do anything that could deteriorate relations between Moscow and Baku.

"A request about the termination of the agreement between Turkey and Russia from 1921 was received by the Foreign Ministry, and we are studying this issue," Zakharova added.

Members of Russia’s State Duma Valery Rashkin and Sergey Obukhov (Communist Party faction) sent a letter to President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov proposing to denounce the Moscow Treaty of Friendship and Brotherhood signed on March 16, 1921, by the government of Soviet Russia (RSFSR) and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Izvestia newspaper reported.

This agreement confirms Nakhchivan as part of Azerbaijan and Turkey acts as a guarantor of it. Termination of the Moscow contract means the cancellation of the Treaty of Kars as well.

Experts believe that the issue of denunciation of Lenin's agreements with Kemal's Turkey raised by the Communists is a kind of one of the last warning to Erdogan. The approval of these proposals by Moscow may really push the two countries to war, as it will cast doubt on the territorial integrity of Turkey at a state level.

Hasan Ogtay, an expert, the Head of the Caucasus Strategic Studies Center, told local media that termination of the Moscow and Kars treaties would lead to war between Russia and Turkey.

Serious worsening is observed in Turkish-Russian relations, and the presidents of the two countries should take steps without delay to ease the tension.

"The Russian Communist Party's such a proposal is a groundless move," he said. "Possibly, neither Moscow nor Kars treaties will terminated."

Azerbaijan, Russia strategic partners

Azerbaijani-Russian cooperation is completely based on the principles of mutual respect and good neighborly relations. Being long-time partners, Russia and Azerbaijan are keen to continue developing multilateral cooperation in the future.

Currently, Azerbaijani-Russian relations have reached the level of strategic partnership. The all-around strengthening of cooperation with Russia has been and remains one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan's foreign policy.

Baku-Moscow ties are a model for mutually beneficial cooperation, partnership, and understanding. Russia has a format of regional cooperation with other countries, but the Azerbaijani-Russian Interregional forum is unique.

Russia correctly identifies interregional cooperation as a strategic part of foreign policy, and this depends largely on the intensity of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan as a whole.

Trade turnover between Russia and Azerbaijan at the end of 2014 exceeded $4 billion and reached its historical maximum. This figure amounted to $ 1.1 billion in January-July 2015, which is 1.85 percent more than in the same period of 2014, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.

To date, Russia has invested over $1.8 billion in Azerbaijan's economy, while Azerbaijan has invested over $1 billion in the Russian economy.

Today, more than 600 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan. Russian investments in the country’s economy have recently amounted to more than $1.8 billion. The leading Azerbaijani companies successfully operate in the regions of the Russian Federation. Direct Azerbaijani investments in the Russian economy have amounted to more than $1 billion for the last 10 years.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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