MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit Azerbaijan on Monday to discuss trade and economic cooperation, including in the energy sector, a Kremlin source said.
"Talks between the leaders of the two countries will focus on the development of trade and economic ties, including effective cooperation during the global economic crisis," the source said.
According to the source, bilateral trade grew by 39.3% to $2.4 billion in 2008, but decreased by 16.9% in the first quarter of 2009 year-on-year due to the global financial crunch.
One of the key areas of cooperation to be discussed during the visit is the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Russia.
Azerbaijan has proven natural gas reserves of some 1.5 trillion cubic meters. The South Caucasus country annually consumes 14 billion cubic meters of gas.
Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller said last Friday the Russian energy giant was planning to sign an agreement with Azerbaijan's state oil and gas company on natural gas supplies from Shah Deniz, the country's largest gas field. Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev has said Baku sees no obstacles to the gas deal.
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