Azernews.Az

President Ilham Aliyev raised the issue of problems at checkpoints on Azerbaijan’s border with Russia in a meeting with Russian Accounts Chamber chairman Sergey Stepashin in Baku on Tuesday.

"The Azerbaijani president asked me to closely follow the issue regarding the border checkpoints in [Russia’s North Caucasus republic of] Dagestan," Stepashin told reporters Wednesday. "I have been there and know first-hand that there are no problems from the Azerbaijani side, and all conditions have been provided for the work of customs bodies. But from the Dagestani side, there are problems, and the Accounts Chamber is conducting check-ups of customs bodies there so that no [further] problems would emerge in any aspects."

According to Stepashin, during his meeting with the president, discussions also covered Azerbaijan’s plans to raise the cost of lease for the Gabala radar station, a mammoth Soviet-era facility in northern Azerbaijan.

"I think there are no major problems here; Presidents Aliyev and Medvedev have already talked about this, and I think we will reach a common denominator."

Stepashin also said Russia intends to draw Azerbaijani specialists to the construction of roads in the country, noting that Azerbaijani highways are considered one of the best in CIS. He added that the issue will be discussed in more detail by the transport ministers of the two countries.

The Russian Accounts Chamber head also spoke of conducting joint audits by the Caspian littoral states.

"Iran has joined the joint audit," Stepashin said. "We are now preparing a joint plan of activities. From 2012, we will be jointly inspecting the Caspian’s environmental bodies and [addressing] issues pertaining to pollution and poaching. We will tackle the issues of fishing -- the Caspian is currently experiencing the problem of the extermination of sturgeons."

Stepashin is visiting Baku to attend events devoted to the 10th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Accounting Chamber.