SOCHI. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Russian and Azeri Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Ilham Aliyev will meet in Sochi on Tuesday for talks focused on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, the legal status of the Caspian Sea and bilateral issues.
The two leaders will exchange views on "key aspects of Russian-Azeri relations as well as pressing issues on the regional agenda, above all, the state of the negotiating process on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," the Kremlin reports.
Medvedev and Aliyev have met regularly in a trilateral format for talks on Nagorno-Karabakh, which also involve Armenia's president. The last trilateral meeting took place in Kazan on June 24.
The Kazan summit was supposed to finalize the main principles for a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but no ultimate agreement was reached. The three leaders passed a joint statement saying that they "came to an understanding on a range of issues whose resolution will help create conditions for the approval of the main principles."
Both the Azeri and Armenian presidents praised Medvedev's personal efforts toward bringing them closer to agreement.
In Sochi, Medvedev and Aliyev will discuss Caspian issues as talks continue on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and in keeping with the decisions reached at the 3rd Caspian summit, which took place in Baku in November 2010, a Kremlin source said.
The two presidents will exchange opinions on trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation.
Russian-Azeri trade grew to $1.12 billion in the first half of 2011, up by more than 86% from the same period last year.
Preparations for the 1st Baku International Humanitarian Forum, scheduled for October, will also be discussed. Medvedev and Aliyev's chiefs of staff co-chair the forum's organizing committee.