RF, Azeri presidents to meet in Ulyanovsk Tuesday.

MOSCOW, November 24 (Itar-Tass) - Presidents Dmitry Medvedev of the
Russian Federation (RF) and Ilkham Aliyev of Azerbaijan are to hold talks
in Ulyanovsk on Tuesday. They are to discuss, in particular, energy
cooperation between the two countries and problems of the Nagorno-Karabakh
peace process.
Tuesday's meeting between the leaders of the RF and Azerbaijan will be
a continuation of the intensive Russo-Azerbaijani political dialogue. This
year the two Heads of State met in various formats not only once:
specifically, Ilkham Aliyev made a working visit to Russia in April, and
the RF President visited Baku on June 29.
A Kremlin source has told Itar-Tass that the presidents of Russia and
Azerbaijan during their meeting in Ulyanovsk are expected to carryon an
exchange of views on matters of current importance that are on the
international and regional agendas. "These include the Nagorno-Karabakh
peace process, during which Russia performs mediatory functions as a
co-chairman of the Minsk group of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)," the source specified.
Earlier Dmitry Medvedev repeatedly emphasized Russia's principled
position: to do everything possible to secure that headway within the
scope of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process continues. "This conflict
stands all chances to be settled in a rather near historical perspective,
and Russia will do its best for a settlement of the conflict," Medvedev
said, in particular, during his visit to Baku in June this year.
Russia on many occasions became a venue for meetings between the
leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, who discussed ways towards resolving
the Karabakh issue with the mediation of the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
group on Nagorno-Karabakh (Russia, France, and the United States).
The leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan are also planning to discuss
bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy and trade-and-economic
relations.
A medium-term contract was signed in Baku on October 14 for the
deliveries of Azerbaijani gas to Russia. The contract provides for
purchase by the Russian side of 500 million cubic metres of gas at the
border of the two countries, beginning from January 1, 2010, with the
possibility of a subsequent increase in the amount. Azerbaijani oil is
transported across Russia's territory via the Baku-Novorossiysk oil
pipeline.
Trade-and-economic relations between the two countries also develop
successfully. Thus, in 2008, trade increased by 39.3 percent (as compared
with that in the corresponding period of the previous year) to run at
$2,370 million. In the period of January to September this year, Russia's
goods turnover with Azerbaijan amounted to $1,260 million, with Russian
export running at over $1,000 million.
Russia and Azerbaijan traditionally maintain close contacts in the
cultural and humanitarian sphere. Such festivals as the Days of
Azerbaijani Culture in Russia and the Days of Russian culture in
Azerbaijan in September were big events in this respect. In February
Ilkham Aliyev attended a ceremony marking the opening of a Baku branch of
Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.
Apart from official talks, Dmitry Medvedev and Ilkham Aliyev are to
take part in a commemorative ceremony associated with the name of Geidar
Aliyev, the father of the current President of Azerbaijan. They will
attend a ceremony on the occasion of the naming of one of Ulyanovsk
squares after Geidar Aliyev.

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