The visit of Dmitry Medvedev to Azerbaijan is to play a significant role in the development of bilateral relations and to consolidate the positive trend of the last two years. Russia and Azerbaijan, supported by the positive relationship of their leaders Ilham Aliev and Dmitry Medvedev, have managed to take a serious step towards a strategic partnership. The visit, in the context of the difficult situation in the Caucasus, will demonstrate that the positions of the two countries coincide a lot on several issues. And after the recent visit to Armenia, Moscow can submit Baku and Yerevan its own viewpoint of the Karabakh peace process. Of course there are several disagreements, but they concern Baku and Yerevan, Moscow here is a moderator in the settlement process. Military cooperation is also to be discussed, particularly in relation to talks about the Azerbaijani purchase of surface-to-air S-300 missiles and military helicopters. The Iranian issue is also to be discussed. The positions of Moscow and Baku coincide by more than 90% here. Azerbaijan and Russia believe that the issue could and should be resolved by peaceful means only. Unfortunately neither Russia nor Azerbaijan, but the US governs the dialogue on the Iranian nuclear program. Moscow, Baku and Astana see very similarly the issue of the Caspian Sea's legal status. But Turkmenistan and Iran haven't come closer to their viewpoint to discuss all the issues. We hope the problem will be resolved by the Caspian countries without the participation of external forces. As far as the enforcement of the strategic relations between Baku and Ankara is concerned, I see no jealousy on the Russian side. No one is to get the "controlling stake", as they say, in the existing conditions. Ankara for Moscow is one of the main interlocutors concerning geopolitics and the economy of the South Caucasus. By Alexey Vlasov. Specially for VK