By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Baku said Tuesday that Azerbaijan evaluated the results of President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Russia a day earlier “very positively.”
“The Azerbaijani side views the outcomes of this visit very positively. The visit was conducted in the spirit of strategic partnership and alliance between Azerbaijan and Russia,” presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev told state news agency, APA.
Expressing that Aliyev and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discussed issues regarding ties, notably underlining an increase in trade turnover, Hajiyev said it is gratifying to note the “positive dynamics” in almost all aspects of Baku-Moscow ties.
Hajiyev said the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) was discussed by the presidents and instructed government officials to take necessary steps toward the project’s implementation.
The INSTC is a 7,200-kilometer (4,500-mile) multi-mode network of ship, rail and road routes between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
“Additionally, the leaders discussed the ongoing negotiations for a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. President Ilham Aliyev expressed high appreciation for Russia's role and efforts in this regard,” said Hajiyev.
He went on to say that the highlight of the visit was his and Putin’s meeting with former and current railway workers to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Baikal-Amur Mainline’s (BAM) construction, during which they noted the significant role of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, who is the incumbent president’s father, in the project.
The BAM is a 4,324-kilometer (2,686-mile) railway stretching from Tayshet in the Irkutsk region to the Russian Far East.
“Overall, President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Russia further solidified the strategic partnership and alliance between the two nations,” he added.