Putin: Bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan acquired the character of strategic cooperation

Baku. 8 August. REPORT.AZ/ Bilateral cooperation has really acquired the character of strategic cooperation, which is vital for the diversification of relations.

Report informs citing the RIA Novosti, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku.

According to him Russia and Azerbaijan can find solutions to problems stemming from decreasing trade cooperation which has been hit by crises in the global economy and falling oil prices.

The Russian leader noted that trade between the two countries has decreased due to various reasons, including the global economic crisis, a drop in prices on traditional export commodity, problems with exchange rate fluctuations.

"We do maintain physical volumes [of trade], and we have promising projects, not only in the energy sector but also in other industries," he said.

About 600 Russian companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan and Russia’s direct investments stand at about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, he noted. "We continue cooperation in the Caspian Sea region, including military cooperation," he added.