BAKU, August 13 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev the preparation for the Third International Humanitarian Forum due in Baku from October 31 to November 1, 2013.
“It can be said with confidence that over a relatively brief period of time, since 2011, it has become a major event in public life,” the Russian president said.
Putin has said cultural humanitarian ties play “a special role in the strengthening of friendly goodneighbour relations.” He also pointed out that the interstate programme of cooperation in the area up to 2015 was endorsed in the framework of the current visit.
Aliyev is also pleased with the level of Azerbaijani-Russian humanitarian ties. “Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia can be an example to other countries,” the Azerbaijani president said. He remarked that the Russian language and Russian culture were treasured in Azerbaijan. “There are 335 schools with Russian sectors in Azerbaijan and 15 schools with tuition entirely in Russian,” Aliyev said. “There are also Russian departments in 27 universities, and the total number of students studying in Russian exceeds 100,000,” Aliyev noted. “This is an important indicator of our attitude to the Russian language and Russian culture,” Aliyev said.
The Azerbaijani president also said that cooperation in the humanitarian area was the basis on which the two countries were building their relations. He has described these relations as “predictable and stable”.