BAKU, August 8. /TASS/. Russia and Azerbaijan can find solutions to problems stemming from decreasing trade cooperation which has been hit by crises in the global economy and falling oil prices, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

The Russian leader noted that trade between the two countries has decreased due to various reasons, including the global economic crisis, a drop in prices on traditional export commodity, problems with exchange rate fluctuations. "And it will be highly timely to speak today about it, to try to find ways to solve these issues," Putin said at a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev.

According to the Russian president, the two countries have a good base to solve these matters. "We do maintain physical volumes [of trade], and we have promising projects, not only in the energy sector but also in other industries," he said.

About 600 Russian companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan and Russia’s direct investments stand at about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, he noted. "We continue cooperation in the Caspian Sea region, including military cooperation," he added.

Bilateral cooperation "has really acquired the character of strategic cooperation, which is vital for the diversification of relations," Putin underscored.