Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Azerbaijan on January 9th for talks with Azeri President Haydar Aliyev on issues ranging from regional stability to border delineations.
Azeri Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev indicated that the two presidents would sign a declaration covering bilateral relations and a document concerning legal borders in the Caspian Sea, which have not yet been defined.
Officials from both countries are expected to discuss economic issues involving the energy sector and questions regarding the definition of borders in the region.
During the Soviet era, Moscow had exercised control over the Caspian basin, but 10 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, borders in the Caspian Sea still have to be delineated. Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran surround the closed inland sea.
Guliyev said that discussions would also center on resolving a long-standing dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nogorno-Karabakh region.
He said that: “Questions of regional security and stability in the Caucasus will be discussed in the context of solving the Karabakh issue.”
35,000 lives were lost during a clash that broke out after the mainly Armenian population in Karabakh attempted to free themselves of Azeri rule in 1988. A ceasefire was called in 1994, which ended the fighting, but no formal peace treaty has been signed.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
