Details added (first version posted on Nov. 14 at 19:08)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 14
Trend:
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by head of the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic of the Russian Federation Rashid Temrezov, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service.
“Thank you very much, dear Mr. President,” Temrezov said. “As a matter of fact, today I paid attention to the number of participating countries: 80 countries and more than 10 religious organizations. Of course, this is a serious platform. People from all continents, from all countries of the world are present and take part. Of course, it is a great occasion to congratulate our dear Sheikh on his birthday anniversary. Otherwise, I am making my third visit to Azerbaijan at your invitation this year.”
“Yes, I am very glad that you come here very often,” President Aliyev said. “This is very important and useful because there are many issues we must address together, both within the framework of Russian-Azerbaijani relations and within the framework of interregional cooperation. In September last year, an interregional forum was held with the participation of Vladimir Vladimirovich and myself. The next interregional forum will be in Moscow this month.”
“So this is also an important platform,” President Aliyev added. “In the bilateral format, we have a very active political process in Russian-Azerbaijani relations, meetings at the highest level, at the level of heads of departments, ministries. In other words, our cooperation is very active. Of course, the fact that His Holiness the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia participates in our event imparts special significance to it.”
“We are very pleased that the Russian Federation is represented very broadly – in the religious segment by our brothers, the muftis of the republics of the North Caucasus, by the Presidential Administration and by other representatives,” the Azerbaijani president said. “So the biggest delegation at the forum is the delegation of the Russian Federation. The forum itself is, of course, a global event. It is universal in nature and I honestly don’t know where else such events are being held and whether they are being held at all. Therefore, Azerbaijan has also proved itself in this direction as a country that can unite countries, unite religions and create a good opportunity for dialogue. This, I think, is the most important thing.”