Russia, Azerbaijan to boost trade cooperation: Putin

Russia and Azerbaijan will consider measures to boost trade cooperation hit by crises in the global economy and falling oil prices, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during talks with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Monday.

According to Russian President, various reasons, including global economic crisis, a drop in prices on traditional export commodity and problems with exchange rate fluctuations affected trade between the two countries.

"About 600 Russian companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan and Russia's direct investments stand at about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars," he said adding that bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia has acquired the character of strategic cooperation, which is vital for the diversification of relations.

President Putin said Russia and Azerbaijan have promising joint projects not only in energy, but also in other areas, such as mechanical engineering and high technologies.

"We also continue cooperation in the Caspian Sea region, including military cooperation," he added.

The Russian president arrived in Baku on Monday for a trilateral meeting with Azerbaijani and Iranian presidents.

The meeting is expected to focus on trade, energy, communications, transportation, environment as well as on the situation in Syria and on the threat of the Daesh terrorist group outlawed in Russia. The sides will reportedly exchange views on the ways to bolster military-technical cooperation.

The meeting is expected to result in the signing of a joint declaration. Endit