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The passions over Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Azerbaijan have already calmed down. Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian experts agreed that the visit was a standard one and did not have any special significance. Certainly, it is difficult to oppose to these common assessments, though, with reservation.

First, about the importance of the visit, or rather lack of importance. Experts studying the schedule of Russian President’s visit to Baku on the eve of the visit already concluded – no political problem would be resolved.

The point is that the list of issues scheduled to be discussed at Dmitry Medvedev - Ilham Aliyev meeting indeed was beyond the format of Presidents’ bilateral contacts.

Obviously, the issue of the Russian-Azerbaijani border is not the business of the Presidents. It is an issue due to be discussed by Deputy Ministers. The Russian President has been never reported to discuss border issues with Georgia or Kazakhstan. The activities related to the Armenian-Georgian border are also coordinated by the Deputy Foreign Ministers. Therefore, placing that issue on Medvedev - Aliyev meeting’s agenda suggests that they had to fill up the agenda of bilateral discussions.

The same can be said about the Caspian Sea status. The bilateral format is not efficient in that issue, either. Discussion of the issue in the absence of the Presidents of the rest of coastal countries – Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan also suggests that the Presidents’ talk lacked content, thus they tried to fill up the gap by discussing undue issues.

The issue of increasing Azerbaijani gas supplies to Russia is a commercial matter beyond Presidents’ jurisdiction. The Azerbaijani and Russian leaders were not going to discuss provision of Gazprom with the total volume of gas exported from Azerbaijan, they were merely planning to sign a document on increasing gas supplies to the extent sufficient to satisfy the needs of a medium-sized Russian regional center, thus Presidents’ interference was absolutely unnecessary.

Therefore, taking into consideration the circumstances mentioned above, political analysts and experts established the fact that Dmitry Medvedev’s visit lacked a political component. Almost without exception, experts are unanimous in that issue.

At first, there were disagreements over the propaganda effect of Russian President’s visit to Baku, but they are gradually smoothing. What is the matter?

It was no secret that Medvedev’s “voyage” to Azerbaijan proceeded in the context of his visit to Armenia and the agreements reached during that visit.

The protocol on extension of the Russian military base deployment term was signed during Russian President’s visit to Yerevan, and many said that the goal of Dmitry Medvedev’s travel to Baku was retaining the balance.

Azerbaijani political circles did not even conceal their expectations. They expected Medvedev to declare in Baku that he was misunderstood in Yerevan and Russia is not going to carry out its allied commitments in case of a military operation in the South Caucasus (in Yerevan, the Russian President spoke about it exactly, without diplomatic coquetry).

Russian President’s assertion in Baku that Russia’s agreement with Armenia did not have “reefs” against Azerbaijan and is aimed at keeping peace and stability in the region satisfied Baku’s expectations at first.

Azerbaijan was especially encouraged by Russian President’s and Foreign Minister Lavrov’s comments that the Russian-Armenian document does not envisage a change in the military base functions.

However, only initially. Azerbaijan got disappointed very soon. Probably, Baku analyzing the facts understood that the Russian authorities did not refute their former statements, moreover, they confirmed them.

Thus, Russia’s assertion about lack of “reefs” can be interpreted as a hint at exactness and transparency of Armenian-Russian cooperation and the advice to consider the presence of the military base as a guarantee of peace as an appeal for restraint addressed to Azerbaijan. Speaking about the manipulations of the statement on the military base functions we must say that the protocol signed on August 20 in Yerevan indeed did not change the military base functions, it merely specified the geography of those functions.

That is why Azerbaijan’s delight turned into disappointment. Baku’s propaganda executives understood that they are not able to make a regular anti-Armenian hysteria over Medvedev’s visit.

And now about the reservation. Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Baku is indeed noteworthy in the context of the process of Nagorno Karabakh conflict peaceful resolution. Not of the Nagorno Karabakh problem but the process of problem peaceful resolution.

What is the matter? In this phase Azerbaijan makes various manoeuvres so as not to express its opinion over the proposals discussed in the last round of talks in Saint Petersburg. At first Azerbaijan declared that no proposals were presented in Saint Petersburg; later, when the fact was already obvious, some Azerbaijani officials referred to the circumstance that the proposals were presented by Russia, while the Minsk Group is empowered for a mediation mission.

Baku did not stop making evasive statements even after the co-chairs assured with a joint statement in Almaty that they completely support official Moscow’s efforts. Dmitry Medvedev visited Baku on the very background and spoke about the necessity of keeping and intensifying the contacts, and Ilham Aliyev had to thank Russia and Dmitry Medvedev personally for their efforts.

One might ask – why did Ilham Aliyev thank Moscow, while his administration constantly complains that Russia should not have presented proposals on its own? Can we perceive his thanks to Medvedev as public acceptance of Petersburg proposals? If yes, we can establish that Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Baku yielded serious results, against the lack of content.