On November 17, 2022, the second meeting of the Russian-Azerbaijani Expert Council (RAEC) was held in Moscow. The conference entitled "30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan: the historical path and prospects for development" was organized jointly by the Russian International Affairs Council and Azerbaijan's Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center).
The participants of the meeting were RIAC Director General, Andrey Kortunov; AIR Center Chairman, Farid Shafiev; First deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Kazbek Taysayev; Deputy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Nizami Safarov; Representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ivan Glushko and the Ambassador for Special Assignments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elshad Iskandarov. Speakers stressed on the importance of RAEC that was established at the end of last year; the expediency of further expansion of contacts between the experts from Russia and Azerbaijan, aimed both at deepening allied relations between the two countries as a whole and at improving mutual understanding of approaches to global and regional issues.
The meeting was conducted in the format of panel discussions, in which leading representatives of Russian and Azerbaijani analytical centers discussed Russia and Azerbaijan’s security building development in the South Caucasus. The second panel was devoted to the role of bilateral cooperation in the development of global and regional transport and logistics routes. The third panel covered the topic of cooperation in humanitarian and information areas.
During the discussions, Russia and Azerbaijan’s positions in preventing another millitary escalation; commitment to the full implementation of the provisions of Trilateral Statement of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russian Federation and Armenia of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, October 31, 2022; the importance of peace treaty signing and border delimitation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as expanding the dialogue between public organizations, experts and parliamentarians were once again emphasized. What is more, the focality of economic cooperation and mutual trust for lasting peace in the South Caucasus region along with the establishment of global and regional transport and logistics communications was also noted. In that regard, the role of the Trilateral Working Group on unblocking transport and economic ties in the region, co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia was streesed as well as the growing role of the transport corridors "North-South" and "East-West" implemented cooperatively between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The conference concluded with the adoption of communique reflecting the practical recommendations of the RAEC on various aspects of the strategic partnership between the two countries by council representatives.