COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND AZERBAIJAN WITHIN REGIONAL INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ONE OF KEY ITEMS OF AGENDA OF MEDVEDEV’S VISIT TO BAKU TREND NEWS AGENCY, AZERBAIJAN

TrendNews
03.07.08 12:39
Azerbaijan

The cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan within the regional
international organizations is one of the key topics of the agenda
of the visit by the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to Baku on 3
to 4 July. The visit of the Russian President to Azerbaijan will
especially focus on the cooperation between the two countries on
the international arena," Sergey Prikhodko, assistant to the Russian
President said to ITAR-TASS.

"Though Azerbaijan is not a member of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization, but that of GUAM it does not affect our close
cooperation on key international problems at all," Prikhodko said. "We
regularly exchange opinions on the situation in the region and other
issues. Ilham Aliyev supports maintaining CIS and its regular format,
he said.

The Presidents will consider the problems of the international legal
status of the Caspian Sea, providing security of the Caspian Sea in
line with the agreements reached during the second Caspian Summit
in October 2007 in Tehran, assistant to the head of state said and
added that the third Caspian Summit will be held in Baku at the end
of summer.

The talks between the leaders will focus on Iran’s nuclear program
as well. Moscow wants to learn how Azerbaijan assesses situation in
the neighboring country given the fact that there is great number of
Azerbaijanis living in Azerbaijan," Prikhodko said.

The exchange of opinion on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
will be carried out during the talks. "This issue was discussed during
the meeting of the Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents in St Petersburg
on 6 June on the results of the first meeting of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents," Prikhodko said.

" Russia is ready to look for the compromise variant of the
settlement. The principal position of Russia on Karabakh is
unchanged," he said. "The responsibility for the final choice of
settlement formula lies on the shoulders of the Azerbaijanis and
Armenians. Russia supports the settlement which suits all parties
involved in the conflict.