Russia Day marked in Baku
By Rashid Shirinov
Baku hosted a reception on the occasion of Russia Day on June 8. Governmental officials, MPs, ambassadors of foreign countries in Baku, representatives of the international organizations and public figures joined the ceremony to mark the Day.
Russian ambassador to Baku Vladimir Dorokhin, addressing the event, highlighted the achievements of his country.
“Today Russia goes its own way. We do not intend to hurt anyone, and we will continue to defend our interests, while recognizing national interests of other countries, and acting on the basis of international law,” he said.
The diplomat also marked the high level of Azerbaijani-Russian relations, mentioning that, as neighbors, having common history, the countries always stuck together.
“We managed to build an optimal model of relations. They are based on mutual respect, unconditional recognition of the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of each other,” Dorokhin noted.
He added that Russia is sincerely interested in a fair settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and will continue to perform its mediator function.
Azerbaijani Education Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, addressing the event, conveyed the congratulations of President Ilham Aliyev.
The minister said that the relations in the humanitarian sphere between Azerbaijan and Russia can serve as a role model for other countries. “All the traditions of the past are carefully stored and are used to build dynamic relations,” he claimed.
Russia Day is the national holiday of the Russian Federation. It has been celebrated annually on June 12 since 1992. The holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on June 12, 1990.
Azerbaijan and Russia are tied by firmly based relations, which were officially established in 1992. The cultural relations between the two countries are also highly evaluated. A Year of Azerbaijan was declared in 2005 in Russia, and in 2006 — the Year of Russia in Azerbaijan. During these two years, the two countries held 110 special cultural events.
Russian is one of the languages students get education in Azerbaijan. More than 15,000 students study in Russian in Azerbaijani universities. A branch of Lomonosov Moscow state University was opened in 2008 in Baku. Moreover, a branch of another Russian university, Sechenov Moscow State Medical University with no education fee was also established on September 15, 2015 in Baku.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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