03-09-2010 14:59:41

Russia’s Medvedev urges Azerbaijan to boost ties (UPDATED)

BAKU – The visiting Russian President urged his Azeri counterpart to boost economic cooperation between the two countries and to seek ways of achieving a new level in bilateral relations.

“Russia and Azerbaijan should strengthen their economic cooperation and think about the ways how to achieve a new level of relations”, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during the talks between Azeri and Russian delegations in Baku on Friday.

Commenting on the one-on-one meeting with Azeri President, Medvedev said the talks focused on a wide range of issues including economic relations and regional security. The Russian President said they talked about the new projects and ideas. He had proposed to hold broader discussion on these new ideas with the participation of the two countries’ delegations.

Medvedev said the trade turnover between the two countries decreased significantly last year.

The Russian-Azerbaijan trade turnover made up $1.78 billion in 2009.

“This year a positive trend is being seen and we have to think about the strengthening of this trend and look for new projects and ideas.”

For his part, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that “good results” were achieved during the meeting with the Russian president and that the documents signed within the framework of the visit would create a “healthy basis for further development of the bilateral relations”.

“These relations are crucial not only for our countries, but for the region as well. The permanent development of the relations with Russia is very important and valuable for Azerbaijan. It is a strategic partnership,” Aliyev said.

In conclusion of the meeting, President Aliyev handed over five icons owned by a Russian church that were impounded during an illegal attempt to transfer them across the two countries’ border.

Medvedev thanked the Azerbaijani side, terming this as “a gesture of friendship”.

Deals
Russia and Azerbaijan signed three agreements on Friday.

One of the accords, signed by the two leaders, envisions delimitation of the state borders.

Baku and Moscow also put pen to an agreement on protection and efficient use of the borderline Samur river.

Also, the Azerbaijani state energy firm SOCAR and Russian gas monopoly Gazprom signed a supplementary agreement to the contract on increasing Azerbaijan’s natural gas supplies. It says that Gazprom will double the volume of gas imports to 2 billion cubic meters from 2011. The bulk of deliveries will increase further in 2012.

“The course of talks is grounds to say that Azerbaijan intends to continue increasing its gas exports in the future,” Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller said.

Last October, SOCAR and Gazprom signed an agreement on the sale of Azerbaijani gas for 2010-2014, with an option of increasing the volume further. The South Caucasus republic was initially to supply at least 500 million cubic meters of gas.  Later, the two countries agreed to increase the volume. Thus, Azerbaijani gas exports to Russia will make up 1bn cubic meters this year and will double next year. Azerbaijan started gas deliveries to its northern neighbor in January 2010.

According to SOCAR, the company exported over 494.6mln cubic meters of gas to Russia in January-July.

During the meeting held prior to the signing, Presidents Aliyev and Medvedev agreed to hold a summit to discuss energy cooperation.

Medvedev told the news conference that the summit may cover bilateral collaboration in the oil, gas and electric power sectors.

TAGS: Azerbaijan, Baku, visit, Dmitry Medvedev, Ilham Aliyev, economic cooperation, Azeri and Russian delegations, Russia