From the talk of the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev while receiving the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Igor Ivanov - January 26, 2002

Heydar Aliyev: Thank you, Igor Sergeyevitch.I would like to express my gratitude first hand to Vladimir Vladimirovitch for this invitation and arrangement of my visit at such a high level and for all the meetings. I suppose that all these meetings held excellent from organizational, hospitality and friendship point of view. Everything was arranged at high level here. I am very pleased for everything. But the most important is that we exchanged views and signed very important documents. I think that we achieved all the goals in principle when the Russian President Putin invited me and I arrived here. I leave with gratitude and satisfaction for the work which we did here. I suppose that we did much with joint efforts to prove to Russia, as well as to Azerbaijan and other countries that there are friendly, strategic relations and cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan.

On the other hand, we achieved much to work together successfully. So, I am very pleased and once again thank you and President Putin for arranging this visit, because organizational work depended on you.

Igor Ivanov: On one handthe results of the visit satisfy us, on the other hand it demands to strengthen joint efforts to realize those agreements in practice. Joint efforts are demanded for bilateral issues and some international issues as well. All these efforts will be directed to searches for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at first. Russia understands the importance of the situation of this conflict for Azerbaijan, region and also itself. It is impossible to achieve stability and friendly relations in the Caucasus without settlement of the conflicts in this region. Russia will spend its efforts in the framework of the OSCE Minks group, as well as on bilateral level.

Heydar Aliyev: You remember, yesterday, I not once noted that it is a veryimportant issue for our republic, also for our bilateral relations and cooperation with Russia. Therefore, as I told yesterday during talks and at the reception as well, that our public expect much from Russia. Because, our public, we all suppose that Russia could lead this issue to the conclusive stage, in short it could play a decisive role in the settlement of the conflict. Our public hopes it, not only the public, so do I, but I think I am sure about it, and hold this opinion. I think that it is necessary to realize the agreements which we signed yesterday, and you will achieve positive results. 
 
\"Azerbaijan\" newspaper, January 30, 2002