BAKU, August 19. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country marks a big step forward in bilateral relations.
"This is not your first trip to Azerbaijan, but it’s your first state visit. This visit is extremely important for our bilateral relations," the president said ahead of talks involving the two countries’ delegations.
According to Aliyev, today, both heads of state praised how relations between the two countries were progressing. "These are relations between friends, neighbors and allies," the Azerbaijani leader noted.
He added that there really were a lot of issues to discuss in terms of bilateral ties as cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia was expanding every year. "We are determined to strengthen our cooperation in all areas. I am confident that your visit will mark another step towards bringing our countries and nations closer to each other," Aliyev stressed.
Putin is currently on his eighth visit to Azerbaijan as Russian president. His first official visit to the country took place on January 9-10, 2001. On September 27, 2018, the Russian president visited the country for the seventh time. He attended a world judo championship and addressed a plenary session of the Ninth Russian-Azerbaijani Inter-Regional Forum. The current trip is Putin’s first state visit to Azerbaijan.