Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested holding peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Azerbaijan if Moscow agrees during a working visit to the country, where he met President Ilham Aliyev.
Zelenskyy made the comments during a press conference with President Aliyev in Gabala, northern Azerbaijan on Saturday (25 April).
An expanded meeting between the delegations of both countries is also taking place in Gabala, according to Azerbaijani officials.
President Ilham Aliyev said cooperation between Azerbaijan and Ukraine rests on a “very strong political foundation”, following talks with Zelenskyy.
“The exchange of views we had and the contacts that followed have consistently raised Ukraine–Azerbaijan relations to a high level,” Aliyev said in a press statement, recalling his visit to Kyiv in January 2022.
He added that both countries support each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in international organisations.
“Azerbaijan and Ukraine mutually support and will continue to support each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in all international organisations,” he said.
Aliyev also said the two sides were cooperating across multiple sectors, including energy, highlighting the role of Azerbaijan’s state oil company.
“We are successfully cooperating in many areas, and this cooperation has once again been confirmed today,” he said.
“There have been achievements here - SOCAR has been successfully operating in Ukraine for many years - and at the same time, there are very promising prospects and joint projects.”
Aliyev said the two sides had also discussed military-technical cooperation and highlighted potential for joint projects.
“The military-industrial complex is developing both in Azerbaijan and in Ukraine, and there are very good opportunities here for joint production, including broader industrial cooperation,” he said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would be ready to hold peace talks with Russia in Azerbaijan if Moscow was prepared to engage.
“We have held talks in trilateral and other formats. Some of them took place in Turkey, and later we met with our American partners in Geneva,” Zelenskyy said.
“If the Russian side also chooses diplomacy, we would also like to hold our negotiations in Azerbaijan,” he added.
Zelenskyy said defence and security were key areas for deeper cooperation with Azerbaijan.
“As for the defence industry, security is an area where we can build very deep cooperation. We must work hard to achieve this goal,” he said.
Zelenskyy also thanked Aliyev for Azerbaijan’s assistance during the war, particularly in the energy sector.
“We have received 11 aid packages in the energy sector during this very difficult period. We express our gratitude to Azerbaijan for this support,” Zelenskyy said.
He also expressed gratitude for support provided to Ukrainian children affected by the war.
“You are helping our children. Our children come from frontline regions. They have faced hardship and suffered from the war. More than 500 Ukrainian children are here, and we are grateful for this support,” he said.
Zelenskyy, writing on Instagram, said he began his visit by meeting an expert team sharing Ukraine’s experience in protecting airspace, adding that Kyiv was committed to strengthening cooperation with partners.
“We have unique security expertise that can benefit other nations,” Zelenskyy said. “We are already working along three directions: the Middle East and the Gulf region, the European Union, and substantive work with Azerbaijan.”
He added that, in addition to security, Ukraine aims to deepen cooperation with Azerbaijan in energy, the economy and humanitarian areas.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly expressed support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and has sent Kyiv more than $45m in humanitarian aid since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Zelenskyy’s visit follows a trip to Saudi Arabia on Friday, his second to the country in a month. After the visit, he said he had a “very productive” meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ukraine is developing an agreement with Saudi Arabia covering security, energy and food.
Separately, the European Union has approved a €90bn ($105bn) loan for Ukraine and imposed new sanctions on Russia. The loan is expected to cover around two-thirds of Ukraine’s financial needs for the next two years.
Overnight, a Russian attack on Ukraine killed four people and injured more than 30 others. Ukrainian officials said Moscow launched more than 660 drones and missiles, targeting the city of Dnipro and several other regions.
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