Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said he held a warm and substantive meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss bilateral relations and future cooperation.

Axar.az reports that Yushchenko stated in a post on his Facebook account that the meeting was attended by Ukraine’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Yuriy Husyev and described the two countries as “true friends and reliable partners.”

“For me, the history of this friendship began back in 1989 in Nakhichevan — with the acquaintance and friendly relations with Heydar Aliyev,” Yushchenko wrote.

He added that he and President Ilham Aliyev had shared more than twenty years of personal friendship and joint work.

"And with President Ilham Aliyev, we are united by more than twenty years of personal friendship and joint work to strengthen relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Azerbaijan," he added.

Yushchenko recalled that the two countries signed a Declaration of Friendship and Strategic Partnership in Kyiv on May 22, 2008, during Aliyev’s official visit to Ukraine.

"An important result of this work was the official consolidation of the strategic partnership between our states. On May 22, 2008, during the official visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Kyiv, we signed the Declaration of Friendship and Strategic Partnership between Ukraine and the Republic of Azerbaijan. This document defined the strategic nature of our bilateral relations and laid a solid foundation for their further development.

During this meeting, we discussed the present and future of our countries, the development of bilateral cooperation, and specific projects, the preparation of which our teams will continue to work on,” he stated.

Yushchenko also thanked Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people for their consistent support for Ukraine.

"I am especially grateful to President Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people for their consistent support for Ukraine, humanitarian aid, care for Ukrainian children, and unwavering respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state," he continued.