The hospitality of the Aliyevs will forever remain in my memory. I am happy to be a guest of this family. Respect and esteem with which Mrs. Zarifa and her beautiful children treated the head of the family captivated my attention.

There were other meetings as well. During the official visit of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchman to Azerbaijan in 1995, I was also among the delegation. When we were leaving, Heydar Aliyev came up to me, hugged me affectionately and asked: “Tell me, why don’t you come here?” Believe me, I was extremely pleased to hear these words, I was touched by these words. Afterall, I have not been forgotten as a person and an astronaut.

I met Mr. Heydar Aliyev in 1997 during his historic visit to Ukraine. But this time I participated in the meeting as a member of Azerbaijani diaspora.

The Earth is too small for conflicts and wars, so people must know the value of life. Thanks to his high reputation and rich experience Heydar Aliyev managed to stop the massacre, and now he is trying to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict only by peaceful means.