At Beijing WWII Parade, Putin and Aliyev Share a Frosty Handshake

At the Beijing parade commemorating the end of World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev greeted each other with a brief handshake, according to Minval’s Telegram channel. The encounter drew attention amid recent speculation about the state of relations between Moscow and Baku.

A Formal Greeting at a Historic Event

“Ilham Aliyev and Putin greeted each other with a handshake on the sidelines of the parade,” the message stated. The meeting had been anticipated by Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, who earlier confirmed that both leaders would attend the Beijing celebrations on September 3.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had noted on September 1 that Putin and Aliyev had not held talks during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Chinese capital.

A Cold Signal from Putin

Commenting on the exchange, Human Rights Council member Kirill Kabanov suggested the greeting was deliberately reserved. He described the handshake as “protocol-driven and cold,” implying it was a signal to Azerbaijani elites.

“This is a signal to all Azerbaijani lobbyists in our country that today, any informal or especially friendly contacts with this country’s elites are toxic,” Kabanov wrote in his Telegram channel.

According to him, under Azerbaijan’s current leadership, it is unlikely that Moscow and Baku will become “dear friends” again.

A Symbol of Cooling Relations

While the two presidents did formally shake hands on September 3, observers interpret the encounter less as a gesture of goodwill and more as a symbolic indicator of strained ties. The greeting, though brief and courteous, is being widely read as an expression of Russia’s cooling stance toward Azerbaijan.