Azerbaijan stands for achieving lasting peace in region, says president

MOSCOW

Azerbaijan stands for achieving a lasting peace in the region, the country's president said on Thursday.

Speaking at a meeting with his Russian counterpart in Astana, Kazakhstan, Ilham Aliyev said he would like to discuss with Vladimir Putin "security issues, issues of achieving peace in the region."

"We are committed to long-term peace, and, for our part, we believe that we have moved forward sufficiently with constructive proposals for it to finally be achieved," Aliyev said, referring to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Aliyev praised the development of the relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, saying they "have reached the highest level, the level of allied cooperation."

He also said the trade volume between the two countries is growing, adding that new projects, approved by the two leaders, will help in increasing the trade volume.

Putin, for his part, said the bilateral trade volume grew 14% last year and over 7% this year, and Russia invested over $4.5 billion in Azerbaijan's economy.

"Naturally, we always keep issues related to the settlement of the situation in the region under review. I hope we will use this opportunity to discuss all these issues again," he said.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Baku liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during new 44-day clashes in the 2020 fall, which ended after a Moscow-brokered truce. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.