Azerbaijan President Reveals Secret Russia-Germany Talks on Ukraine in Baku

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev revealed that former senior officials from Germany and Russia held confidential talks on Ukraine in Baku between July 12 and 14.

According to media reports, the unofficial German delegation included Ronald Pofalla, former chief of staff to Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Matthias Platzeck, the former Minister-President of Brandenburg. Russia was represented by Valery Fadeyev, chairman of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, and Viktor Zubkov, former Russian prime minister and current chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom.

Aliyev Says Azerbaijan Was Unaware of the Meeting

According to Aliyev, the meeting between the Russian and German representatives took place without the knowledge of the Azerbaijani authorities.

"Our territory was used for such a meeting without our knowledge (…) I cannot comment on the details because we were not present. However, flight records allow me to confirm that the secret meeting in Baku did indeed take place," Aliyev said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The Azerbaijani president added that he welcomes such contacts if they can contribute to ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Merz, for his part, said he was unaware of the reported meeting but stressed that Europe remains open to negotiations with Russia on Ukraine.

Kremlin Comments on Azerbaijan's Position

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Azerbaijan's position on the conflict in Ukraine remains one of the issues on which Moscow and Baku disagree.

"As for the position expressed by President Ilham Aliyev, there are a number of countries with which we maintain close relations that share this view. It is a position with which we categorically disagree, and yes, it remains a subject of disagreement between us," Peskov said.

He emphasized that Russia takes a pragmatic approach and does not believe such differences should cast a shadow over bilateral relations. Peskov added that Moscow will continue to explain its position on Ukraine to the Azerbaijani leadership.

Aliyev Says Bilateral Relations Have Normalized

Aliyev also stated that relations between Moscow and Baku have now been fully normalized. He said cooperation between the two countries continues to expand across both traditional areas and new fields.