MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for Moscow's efforts to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"I would like to express my gratitude to the Russian side for its efforts to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We highly appreciate these efforts," Aliyev said on Thursday at the opening of talks with Putin in Moscow.

Aliyev pointed out that the Russian president's participation in Thursday's planned trilateral meeting with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow shows that Russia attaches great importance to ensuring that Baku and Yerevan come to a peace agreement.

Putin is holding two separate meetings on Thursday with Aliyev and Pashinyan. The leaders will then hold trilateral talks, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier told reporters.