INTEGRATION VECTORS

On February 25-26, Baku hosted a traditional Russian-Azerbaijani conference focused on strengthening cooperation between the two countries. It is the fourth year that prominent Russian politicians, members of parliament, public figures, and experts visit the capital of Azerbaijan. Together with their Azerbaijani counterparts, they are looking for the most acceptable ways to develop bilateral cooperation in various spheres of life, outlining the vectors of the socio-cultural integration of the two peoples.

The conference is an initiative of the Russian NGO Institute of Political Studies (IPS). According to the head of IPS, a well-known political analyst Sergey Markov, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia support the conference. He also noted a positive dynamic of relations between the two countries, which can be an example to follow.

Representatives of various committees of the Russian State Duma, including Irina Rodnina, Oksana Pushkina, Dmitry Savelyev, Denis Parfenov, Alexey Zhuravlev, Lyudmila Kozlova, Viktor Zubarev, Tatyana Tsybizova, Mikhail Yemelyanov, as well as a number of Russian experts attended the conference.

In 2018, the conference was dedicated to the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan. This year the main topic of discussions was "Building a common future, searching for a common past and developing a common present".

Common past

According to the participants, our common past is based on the positive aspects of the history of both nations, including our common participation in the Great Patriotic War and contribution of various peoples of the USSR to the victory over fascism.

The head of the Russian community of Azerbaijan, member of parliament, Mikhail Zabelin, told the participants about the restoration of traditional ties with Russia after the rule of the nationalists in Azerbaijan.

"They tried to close Russian schools. But after becoming the president, Heydar Aliyev revived the memory of our common past. He felt the aspirations of the people, who demanded to restore our common historical dates. After that, we began celebrating May 9 again," Mikhail Zabelin said.

A member of the Russian Federation Council and a native of Baku, Lyudmila Kozlova, also emphasized the traditions of internationalism in Azerbaijan: "Baku has always been an international city. Russians, Azerbaijanis, Jews — we all lived as members of a single family. We therefore need to pass the same traditions of friendship to next generations. I am very glad that the attitude towards Russians has not changed since."

Deputy Director of IPS, coordinator of the Group of Friends of Azerbaijan, Daria Grevtsova, noted such a positive factor as the inclusion of Baku in the Russian public initiative Immortal Regiment.

Common present

Both countries have many issues on the common agenda, including global economic projects, international transport corridors, and cooperation in the energy sector. Military expert, the chief editor of the Natsionalnaya Oborona magazine Igor Korotchenko mentioned the deepening of military-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia. According to Korotchenko, Azerbaijan is the largest buyer of Russian weapons, but there is also a flip side of the coin. "On the one hand, we are promoting the modernisation of the Azerbaijani army, as we supply the state-of-art weapons. On the other hand, the money from the sale of weapons helps our defence industry modernise and research new developments and be competitive in the global arms market," Korotchenko said. The expert also proposed holding joint exercises between the military departments of the two countries, for example, in the Caspian Sea.

"We should not forget that Russia and Azerbaijan are the largest suppliers of hydrocarbons. The export and processing of oil and gas provide substantial revenues to the budgets of our countries. This is not only an issue of ensuring the energy security of the European Union, but also an issue of financial and economic sustainability of Azerbaijan and Russia," Igor Korotchenko said.

In addition, Russian participants noted the support of Azerbaijan at difficult times for Russia at international level.

Mikhail Yemelyanov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation, spoke about the cooperation of the Azerbaijani and Russian parliamentary delegations at the meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), where for the first time Asaf Hajiyev from Azerbaijan became the Secretary General of the organisation.

"We also work closely in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). We highly appreciate the support of the Azerbaijan when Russia was deprived of the right to vote in PACE. We remember the magnificent speech of our Azerbaijani colleague. Interestingly, there was no representative of Armenia at the meeting at that particular moment. Otherwise, Armenia positions itself as Russia's closest ally in South Caucasus. We did not hear Armenians at the meeting," Mikhail Emelyanov recalled. He also called on the Azerbaijani side to actively participate in the meetings of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly.

In turn, the co-chairman of the Russia-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group, deputy of the Milli Majlis Ali Huseynli thanked the Russian colleagues for supporting the Azerbaijani position in all international organisations.

"Our parliamentary diplomacy is an example of friendship. We have a clear direction, a clear position, and we can even agree on controversial issues," Ali Huseynli said.

Common future

Many participants noted the common goals arising from the interests of both countries. According to the general opinion, financially and resource-backed countries face threats and are subject to powerful external pressure. The nature of strategic cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan determines the vector of relations for the near future.

Member of the State Duma Committee on Energy Viktor Zubarev noted the practical integration of the energy systems of Azerbaijan and Russia, a positive development trend in related areas, especially various transport and logistics schemes. "We are especially interested in the future of the North-South transport corridor. The Baku International Sea Trade Port and the free trade zone is the prospect of our cooperation. We have a huge cooperation potential, which is our strength," Zubarev said.

Fuad Akhundov, head of sector at the Office of the President of Azerbaijan, spoke about the need to implement new common projects that both sides could be proud of. He also proposed to cooperate more actively in the information sphere. "We are living in a rapidly changing world, especially when it concerns information. We therefore need to build certain structures to be ready for all kinds of provocations. Information wars are as hot as other wars," Fuad Akhundov said.

State Duma deputies Oksana Pushkina and Irina Rodnina proposed developing non-governmental female diplomacy as a way to prevent wars and deepen mutual charitable and humanitarian projects.

Politicians and experts of Azerbaijan and Russia exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation in medicine, education, sports, tourism, youth programs that could further improve relations between the two friendly nations. The delegates paid much attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the ways of its peaceful settlement.