President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: Mr President, delegation members, once again, I warmly welcome you to Azerbaijan.

Yesterday and today, we reviewed the bilateral agenda, addressing numerous key issues of our cooperation. Now, we will continue our discussions in expanded format.

First and foremost, I want to extend another warm welcome to you. While this is not your first visit to Azerbaijan, it is your first state visit, and it holds exceptional importance for the advancement of our bilateral relations.

Today, we have already shared our views and expressed satisfaction with the progress of relations between our countries, relations between friends, neighbours, and allies. We observe positive developments across all areas. The composition of our delegations is also quite telling, reflecting the breadth of our discussions and the growing scope of our mutual activities. The range of topics for cooperation continues to expand every year.

We are dedicated to enhancing our cooperation across all areas, and I am confident that your visit will be an important step forward in further strengthening the bonds between our countries and peoples.

Once again, welcome.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much, Mr President.

Thank you very much for the invitation. As you have noted, our delegation is highly representative, as is yours. The Government of the Russian Federation is here in nearly full composition.

We have already mentioned that just ten days ago, the intergovernmental commission held a meeting, which confirmed that our relations are progressing. Moreover, it was noted that we fully honour the provisions of the 2022 Declaration, as well as the agreements reached during your visit last April.

Working with such a large delegation allows us to plan for the near future more effectively. Even though our discussions were held in a restricted format, we have already addressed several top-priority issues.

We still need to sign a number of documents. Our colleagues have had the chance – both informally yesterday evening, as we did, and throughout the day today – to engage with one another and outline the next steps.

So, thank you very much.

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