Russian President's visit program to Azerbaijan announced

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will discuss the issues of defining the Caspian Sea's new legal status, ecology, including the laying of trans-Caspian pipelines, as well as economic cooperation with his counterparts at the third summit of the Caspian littoral states in Baku Nov.18, assistant to the Russian President Sergei Prikhodko said on the eve of the Russian leader's visit to Azerbaijan.

"The upcoming meeting of "Caspian Five" is intended to give significant impetus to the negotiations on key issues of regional cooperation. First of all, the new legal status of the Caspian Sea, as well as establishing closer cooperation in spheres such as development of oil and gas exploration and transportation of hydrocarbons, finance and investment , trade, transport, use of biological resources, environmental protection," Prikhodko said.

The first summit of Caspian littoral states' leaders was held in Ashgabat in April, 2002, the second - in Tehran in October, 2007.

The Russian leader will launch his visit to Azerbaijan with a meeting with the country's President Ilham Aliyev. Later it is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by mutual agreement. In addition, a private discussion with the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is expected on the sidelines of the summit, RIA Novosti reports.

Summit will begin in the afternoon. It will last about three hours, as a result documents will be signed and a joint statement of heads of state to the press will be made. A working dinner of the presidents is planned at the end of the program.

/Trend/