(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Akbar Mammadov

President Ilham Aliyev has described Ukraine as Azerbaijan's strategic partner in a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on September 22, the president's website has reported.

During the phone conversation initiated by Zelensky, the presidents underlined the two countries support to each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Aliyev informed his Ukrainian counterpart of Armenia's military provocation against Azerbaijan.

Zelensky noted that Azerbaijan was identified as Ukraine's strategic partner according to the country's new National Security Strategy.

Furthermore, the sides hailed the necessity of taking specific steps to expand cooperation between the two countries in the fields of energy, transport, investment, aviation, agriculture, tourism, humanitarian and sports. They also spoke about the measures taken in Ukraine and Azerbaijan to combat the pandemic.

On September 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to endorse the National Security Strategy of the country. The strategy included Azerbaijan in the list of strategic partner states for Ukraine. According to the document, Turkey, Georgia and Lithuania are also strategic partners for Ukraine.

Following this, on September 17, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said Azerbaijan firmly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. Kyiv had also voiced support to Baku over Armenia's cross-border military provocation near Azerbaijan's Tovuz region that killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen and a civilian.

Azerbaijan's support for Ukraine is not new. On 28 July, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed its firm support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. It was said in the statement that "Azerbaijan takes note of the agreement of July 22, 2020, reached by the Trilateral Contact Group."

It should be noted that Azerbaijan backed Ukraine over Russia's annexation in 2014 of the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

The two countries are also economic partners. Ukraine is Azerbaijan's second-largest trade turnover partner among CIS countries, with a trade turnover worth $555 million during the reporting period.

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