Azerbaijan, Baku, October 20 / Trend E. Ostapenko /
Currently, Russia and Azerbaijan play important role in formation of new regional order in Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, head of the Center for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani President, Elhan Nuriyev, said.
"Russia and Azerbaijan are strategic partners in South Caucasus. Moreover, they are active participants in forming of new regional order in the Caucasus-Caspian basin," Nuriyev told media on October 20 after the conference in Moscow, in which he participated as part of the Azerbaijani delegation.
A joint project of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies and the Center for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani President was held in Moscow from October 14-17. The theme of the round table was "Russia - Azerbaijan: development perspectives of bilateral relations."
Director of the Institute of Philosophy, Law and Sociology, Ilham Mammadzade, employee of department of political analysis and information provision of the presidential administration, Farhad Mammadov, independent expert, Rasim Musabayov, also participated in the conference as part of the Azerbaijani delegation besides head of the Center for Strategic Studies.
All aspects of political, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan were discussed during the round table in the Russian Institute of Political Studies
Special attention was paid to the discussions and current state of the Azerbaijani-Russian relations.
During the conference Nuriyev said that Azerbaijani foreign policy was based and is based on the principle of balanced and multi-directional, consistent integration into the international organizations on the basis of mutual benefit, especially taking into account Azerbaijani national interests.
"The main advantage of Azerbaijani multi-vector foreign policy is broad perspectives creating a springboard for each side to take the initiative", Nuriyev said.
Ancient historical ties and strong economic cooperation is an important argument to develop comprehensive relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, Nuriyev said.
He said that Azerbaijan is political sphere now where two major powers, namely, Russia and the U.S.A. actively and successfully cooperate. Azerbaijan is not an arena of interests clashes between two powers, as opposed to Armenia and Georgia.
"Both Russia and the USA more understand and have more common grounds concerning Azerbaijan than the basis for conflicts and rivalry that can be observed in Armenia and Georgia", Nuriyev said.
Director of the Center answered the questions on the prospects of solving the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the round table.
He said that everything happening around the settlement process dispirits because the conflict has not been solved yet."
He also reiterated Azerbaijani clear position concerning restoration of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia.
He said that normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations must be solved in parallel with settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Nureyev also stressed important role of Russia in peace settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani delegation named the reasons for the need to develop and strengthen cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan.
These reasons include potentially effective participation of Azerbaijan in restoration of stability in North Caucasus, "by virtue of the Muslim factor".
Good relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, Iran, Central Asian countries, i.e., those countries with which Russia is interested to develop relations is another significant reason.