…AGREES TO LIMITED INTELLIGENCE COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA.

Azerbaijan’s national security minister Namig Abbasov said yesterday that he and the director of Russia’s External Intelligence Service, Vyacheslav Trubnikov have reached an unwritten "gentlemen’s agreement" to cooperate on certain intelligence matters. According to Abbasov, the agreement envisages coordination of intelligence gathering on international terrorism, drug trafficking, and other aspects of organized crime, as well as exchanges of information on personnel training and the security of the two countries’ missions in third countries. The sides do not intend to formalize the understandings as an official agreement, Abbasov said. The understandings were reached at Russian initiative last week when Trubnikov visited Baku and was also received by Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev. (Interfax, June 10)

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