Aliyev and Putin meeting: 6 ‘road maps’

Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, and Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, met on 1 September in Sochi, Russia. Numerous documents were signed, including a cooperation programme which will last until 2024 and six ‘road maps’ covering various areas.

The road maps include building up trade, counter investments, creating transport routes, expanding humanitarian cooperation in various fields including cultural exchanges and tourism, as well as cooperation in the oil sector.

President Putin, while speaking to the press, listed the Russian companies operating in Azerbaijan’s market, and the amounts invested by them in the country’s economy. He mentioned the North-South transport corridor, most of which passes through Russia and Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev said in his speech that Azerbaijan counts on Russia’s assistance in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia. Putin stated that Russia, as one of the co-chairmen of the Minsk Group, will do everything possible to settle the conflict peacefully.

Aliyev also said that Azerbaijan had already purchased Russian military equipment amounting to more than USD 5 billion, and cooperation in this area will continue.

The overall running theme of the meeting between the two presidents was the assurance of friendship and mutual sympathy between Azerbaijan and Russia.