Russian, Azeri presidents to discuss Caspian and Azeri oil export issues
RIA Novosti, Russia
June 14 2005
MOSCOW, June 14 (RIA Novosti) – The Tuesday summit of the Russian
and Azeri presidents, Vladimir Putin and Ilkham Aliyev, is to focus
on the whole range of the bilateral relations, a Kremlin source told
RIA Novosti.
Moscow believes the mainstay of the bilateral relations is the
trade and economic cooperation resting upon the interstate treaty on
long-term economic cooperation until 2010, singed on January 25, 2002.
Last year, bilateral trade turnover grew by 50% to $757 million. Over
the first five months of this year, the growth has equaled 40%. The
showings are another step towards implementing the interstate
agreement on doubling the goods turnover to drive it to $1 billion,
the source said.
According to the Kremlin source, the presidents of Russian
and Azerbaijan during their Tuesday meeting in St. Petersburg
are to look into stepping up the fuel and energy cooperation,
particularly, boosting the Azeri oil transit via the Northern Route,
the Baku-Novorossiisk oil pipeline.
“Cooperation on the Caspian issues with emphasis placed on drafting
a Caspian legal status convention” is to be touched upon as well,
RIA Novosti’s source in the Kremlin said.
The situation in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is to
be analyzed, with the two presidents to exchange their views on the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement (Nagorno-Karabakh is an area in Azerbaijan
with the ethnic Armenian population).
Aliyev is to attend the 9th St. Petersburg International Economic
Forum. The Azeri republic presentation timed to coincide with the
Year of Azerbaijan in Russia is to be held during the forum
This is going to be the third visit of Azerbaijan’s president to Russia
this year. Aliyev paid a working visit to Moscow on February 15-16
and attended the celebration of the 60th V-E Day anniversary on May 9.