Russia-Azerbaijan trade reaches $4.4 billion, Russian ambassador says

The trade between Russia and Azerbaijan was expected to be to $4 billion, but it reached to $4.4 billion, an increase of 17%, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Yevdokimov said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper, Report informs.

"Sanctions have made our relations even closer; we are implementing very serious projects in industrial cooperation. The 17 percent growth is not the re-export of something through Azerbaijan, these are, in particular, large projects on industrial cooperation," he said.

The diplomat noted that the use of the national currencies of Russia and Azerbaijan (ruble and manat) exceeded 54% at the onset of the year.

"We are moving away from the dollar and euro in our relations with Baku," he said.