President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Baku on Monday (27 February).
The meeting was scheduled to coincide with the first anniversary of signing of the Declaration on Allied Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan on 22 February 2022.
Speaking at the meeting, President Aliyev said:
"If we begin to list the areas of activity that bring us together, it will probably take a lot of time. We can count the areas where our work is not so active yet. However, this does not remain unnoticed either. This is why we hope for serious mutual steps in the fields of traditional interaction – political dialogue, energy, transport, trade, humanitarian cooperation and alliance, which we need to bring to the level of interaction."
Speaking about the ongoing peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Aliyev said:
"I do hope that 2023 will be a year of progress in the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Or at least we hope so. I would like to thank the Russian government and you personally for your active participation in this process. I think that Russia, as our friend, ally and neighbor, has a special role to play in helping to regulate interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia."
He added that Azerbaijan is "determined to do positive and constructive work together with the Armenian side and our friend and neighbor, Russia, in order to quickly turn the page of this hostility and return peace to the South Caucasus".
Lavrov: Russia welcomes all efforts in stabilising the South Caucasus
On his part, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said:
"Regional security remains a very relevant topic in our bilateral and multilateral relations. Many of our international colleagues, including those located far from this region, are showing great interest in creating conditions for progress in the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"As President Putin has repeatedly said, we welcome all efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation and creating conditions for all countries located in this region to have the opportunity to cooperate in the interests of their countries and peoples on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit."
Lavrov and Bayramov meeting on Tuesday
On Tuesday (28 February), Sergey Lavrov will meet with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on the second day of the former's official visit, where they will "exchange views on the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as relevant regional and international topics", according to Azerbaijani media.