BAKU, December 12. /TASS/. Relations between Baku and Moscow have been successfully developing in every field, including the defense area, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting with a Russian delegation headed by General Staff Chief General Valery Gerasimov on Wednesday.
"President Ilham Aliyev pointed to successful and rapidly developing cooperation in every field, including the defense area, and stressed that high-level meetings were important for boosting cooperation," says a statement published on the Azerbaijani president’s website.
Aliyev pointed out that the two countries’ leaders had held a number of meetings in 2018 and singed many agreements. He also stressed it was important to implement those documents in order to take cooperation to a higher level, adding that efforts were being made to achieve that goal.
"President Aliyev emphasized that friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Russia had stood the test of history and now the two countries were reliable partners for each other," the statement adds. He also said that defense cooperation between Baku and Moscow had reached a high level.
The Azerbaijani leader thanked Moscow for choosing Baku to host a meeting between the top military brass from Russia and NATO, noting that it was a sign of respect and confidence. "Azerbaijan values it a lot," Aliyev said.
Gerasimov, in turn, said that he had already held several meetings with NATO and US officials in the Azerbaijani capital. According to the Russian general, Baku "is a very appropriate place for such meetings as the necessary conditions are created here."
Gerasimov is scheduled to hold a meeting with NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General Curtis Scaparrotti in Baku later in the day.