AZERBAIJAN, October 8 - On October 8, a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was held in Moscow.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the meeting.

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, welcomed President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and other heads of state and government.

The heads of state and government posed for a group photo.

First, a limited format meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council took place.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving the floor to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, said: “Please, Ilham Heydarovich, the floor is yours.”

The President of Azerbaijan addressed the meeting.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Dear colleagues.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, on your belated birthday once again and wish you good health, the best of luck, and continued success and achievements to the friendly people of Russia. The recent state visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Azerbaijan once again confirmed the allied nature of Russian-Azerbaijani relations. I am confident that the implementation of the agreements reached will serve the progressive development of our relations in the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Emomali Sharifovich Rahmon every success in the presidency of the Republic of Tajikistan in the CIS next year, and to congratulate him on his belated birthday once again.

According to the decision of the Humanitarian Cooperation Council of the CIS, the city of Lachin in the East Zangezur region of Azerbaijan has been declared the cultural capital of the CIS for 2025. Lachin is one of the cities of Azerbaijan that was under Armenian occupation for almost 30 years and was almost completely destroyed. Today, the town of Lachin has already been restored. A new life has started there, and former IDPs have returned. The declaration of Lachin as the cultural capital of the CIS was received with great gratitude both by the natives of Lachin and the entire Azerbaijani nation.

Next year, the 3rd CIS Games will be held in Azerbaijan, with the city of Ganja becoming the sports capital. Competitions will also take place in more than 10 cities across Azerbaijan.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Belarus on the successful hosting of the 2nd CIS Games. The experience of our Belarusian friends and brothers will be very useful for us in our preparations for hosting this important sporting event.

In a month's time, Baku will host the largest international event, the COP29 climate conference. We view the unanimous decision of about 200 countries to hold the conference in Baku as a sign of respect from the entire world community for Azerbaijan.

Dear colleagues, today we will adopt an appeal of the CIS Heads of State on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Azerbaijan has made a significant contribution to our common victory. With a total population of 3.4 million people in Azerbaijan, about 700,000 individuals went to the frontline at that time. More than 350,000 died on the battlefield. A total of 130 natives of Azerbaijan received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war, Azerbaijan's oil workers supplied more than 80 percent of oil and oil products and 96 percent of oils for military equipment. All this was produced in Azerbaijan at that period – these were the percentages in the total production of these items in the USSR at the time. More than 130 types of weapons, ammunition, and equipment were produced in Azerbaijan, including the famous “Katyusha” rockets and Yak-3 fighters.

There were 41 military hospitals in Baku, where 440,000 wounded people were treated. In March 1942, soldiers of the Azerbaijani 416th Rifle Division, also known as the Taganrog Division, took the oath and began their combat journey in the North Caucasus, which they concluded in Berlin. On April 21, 1945, the 416th Azerbaijan Rifle Division was one of the first to break into the outskirts of Berlin. On May 2, fighters of the division, under the command of Colonel Rashid Majidov, hoisted the Victory Banner over the Brandenburg Gate.

Our common Victory Day on May 9 is an important factor in further cooperation among CIS member states. Azerbaijan attaches great importance to this cooperation and will continue to contribute to the strengthening of our interaction.

Thank you for your attention.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much, Ilham Heydarovich.

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The meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council then continued in an expanded format.

Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the successful development of relations and the implementation of various mutually beneficial projects among CIS countries.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko addressed the meeting, reading a joint appeal to the CIS nations and the international community in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the 1941-1945 war.

Valentina Matvienko. Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, followed with remarks on interparliamentary relations within the CIS, upcoming projects, and planned activities.

The session concluded with the signing of documents, bringing the CIS Heads of State Council meeting to an end.