MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. Moscow and Baku maintain an active political dialogue and continue to develop cooperation on various tracks, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a release circulated to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, as well as the prime ministers, foreign ministers and parliament speakers exchanged congratulations on this occasion. "An intensive political dialogue is maintained at the senior and highest levels," the ministry stressed.
"The large legal and contractual framework includes over 150 interstate and intergovernmental agreements," it stressed. "This ensures the progressive development of trade, economic, military-technical, inter-parliamentary, cultural, humanitarian and regional ties," the Foreign Ministry went on to say.
Partnership of Russia and Azerbaijan
Russia is among Azerbaijan’s leading foreign trade partners, the ministry stressed. "Trade between our countries demonstrated stability against the pandemic challenges and continued to grow in 2021," it went on to say. The Plan of Action for the development of key trajectories of bilateral cooperation up to 2024 includes six roadmaps on trade, transport infrastructure, knowledge-based industry, higher efficiency of economy and tourism, cooperation on the track of innovative development and digital technologies, the ministry stressed.
The stances of Moscow and Baku in international affairs are close or often the same. "We cooperate actively within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States, cooperate within the context of integration processes on the Eurasian space. Our countries traditionally support each other on international platforms, including the UN and the OSCE, resolutely rejecting any manifestations of racism, xenophobia, neo-Nazism, discrimination based on ethnicity, language or religion," the Foreign Ministry said. "Russia and Azerbaijan are also at one in countering attempts to glorify Nazism, revise the results of WWII and falsify history," it stressed.
The parties keep in the focus of attention security in the South Caucasus, committed to the compliance with the three-party summit agreements of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, it added.
Focusing on the Declaration on Allied Interaction between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation, signed on February 22, the ministry stressed that the provisions of this document "are aimed into the future". The allied relations will continue to develop "based on strong traditions of good-neighborly relations, equality and regard for the interests of each other," the ministry stressed.