On January 26, 2005 a meeting between Mr. R.Usubov, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Mr. Anatoly Yurchenko, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Azerbaijan took place.

The Minister expressed his cordial congratulations on the Ambassador’s appointment together with the wishes of best success in his diplomatic career. The Ambassador was then briefed regarding current crime situation in the country and the steps undertaken within recent years with the view to guaranteeing irreversible domestic  social and political stability that we enjoy at the moment. It was noted that crime rate was truly rampant in the country in early 1990-s. On the one hand, occupation of part of the territory by the armed forces of Armenia resulted in displacement and horrible distress for hundreds of thousands of Azeri citizens, whereas on the other hand incompetence of that-time government completely paralyzed the state authorities and put the country on the edge of collapse. Given that situation return of Mr.Heydar Aliyev to power upon an insistent urge by the people was the only viable solution. Tremendous experience of Mr.H.Aliyev in statehood building together with a very consistent political course initiated by this recognized political leader were instrumental in sustainable democratic transformations in the country and fundamental  changes in virtually all fields of public life.  As of late 1995 the crime situation in the country got under control, so that for a number of years Azerbaijan traditionally has the best records of crime rate among the CIS countries with the lowest numbers of criminal offences annually perpetrated for 100.000 residents.

The Minister also emphasized a very efficient cooperation in-between the Azerbaijani and Ukrainian Ministries of Internal Affairs which goes pretty much in line with the policy of strategic partnership launched by the Presidents of both countries. In this respect Mr.R.Usubov took note of the bilateral agreement between the two national Ministries of Internal Affairs. In the meantime the Ministries of Internal Affairs of both countries enjoy a very fruitful partnership through the multilateral agreements adopted in the CIS framework and active involvement in the Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs. A very positive partnership momentum was also accomplished in the format of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and GUUAM.

In the course of the meeting the Minister reiterated his appreciation for the support provided by the relevant Ukrainian authorities during the recent period in apprehension of a number of very violent wanted offenders and their further extradition to Azerbaijan.

Ambassador Yurchenko expressed his gratitude for a sincere reception and detailed information and reiterated his assurances in further development of relations between Ukraine and Azerbaijan in the vein of the policy conducted by the Presidents of the countries concerned.

The meeting was held in a very positive atmosphere of mutual understanding and shared interests.