Yerevan /Mediamax/. Meeting of the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev took place today in Kremlin.

Here are excerpts from the opening remarks of Putin and Aliyev, published on the Kremlin website.

Vladimir Putin

Declaration on Allied Interaction

Your visit is taking place on the eve of a significant event in our bilateral relations – the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. And today we will sign the Declaration on Allied Interaction. This, obviously, is a new phase in the development of our relations, and, surely, this became possible, including after reaching not complete settlement but an advance in the solution of Karabakh issue.

Certain agreements

There are already certain agreements not only in terms of ensuring the security of all the people living there, but also in terms of developing trade and economic ties and unblocking transport communications.

I know that there are still disputes, there is something to work on. But we, for our part, will do everything to ensure that this process develops peacefully.

Russia has no plans to restore the empire

You know that yesterday Russia made a decision to recognize the sovereignty of the two People’s Republics of Donbass. I want to say right away: we see and have foreseen, one might say, speculation on this matter – on the matter that Russia is going to restore the empire within the imperial borders. This is completely untrue.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has recognized all the new geopolitical realities and, as you know, is actively working on strengthening our interaction with all countries, independent states that have emerged in the post-Soviet space. Even in acute, very acute situations, which is, say, the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, we have always acted very carefully, proceeding from the interests of all the states involved in this process, and have always tried to achieve mutually acceptable solutions.

Ilham Aliyev

Declaration on Allied Interaction

We greatly appreciate the friendly, good neighborly relations that have established between our countries, and we are strengthening them. And the signing of the Declaration on Allied Interaction is a very good illustration of how actively we have been working in recent years and building up the potential for mutual cooperation. These were not just words, not just intentions, but also concrete deeds.

The declaration is quite extensive: it contains more than 40 points. It covers the most important areas of our interaction and will be of the utmost importance for the future of our bilateral relations. In general, political relations between our countries have always developed very positively in recent years, and now they are reaching the highest level.

New situation and geopolitical realities

Today there is a new situation, today the geopolitical realities in the region are accepted by the international community. And Russia also plays a very important role, I would say, a leading role in creating opportunities for the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, opening transport communications, establishing normal neighborly relations. We greatly appreciate this role and hope that the Armenian side will, just like we, for our part, fulfill all the points of the statement signed in November 2020.