Minister: Ukraine-Azerbaijan relations on youth should be shifted from state level to personal contacts

Baku. 23 November. REPORT.AZ/ Ukrainian and Azerbaijani athletes are strong in such sport as boxing, weightlifting and wrestling, Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sport Igor Zhdanov said.

"We maintain quite broad cooperation with Azerbaijan. In the youth sphere these are the traditional forms of interaction. I think they will further develop," Zhdanov said.

He noted that Ukraine and Azerbaijan are interested in development of relations in youth direction.

"These relations must be shifted from the state level to the level of personal contacts, contacts of public figures, contacts of public organizations, make them more horizontal. The state can help in something, probably, some framework opportunities," the minister said.

As for the interation between the two countries in sport, the minister said that Ukrainian and Azerbaijani athletes compete on the international arena.

"Once I talked to the minister (of sport and youth of Azerbaijan Azad Rahimov - ed.) and he said that there are some things in Azerbaijan that are underdeveloped for certain historical reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to develop traditional ones: wrestling, boxing, weighlifting that are the areas where Azerbaijanis are strong," Zhdanov said adding that sport is treated seriously in Azerbaijan, which can only be welcomed.

According to him, the Ukrainian side is interested in conducting training camps in the territory of Azerbaijan, and vice versa.

The Minister stressed that Azerbaijan and Ukraine have a unified position on the issue of doping, which is unacceptable in sport.