Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev shake fingers throughout their assembly in Baku, Azerbaijan. | Photograph credit score: AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived within the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Sunday for a two-day state go to, Russian information companies reported.
Russian tv broadcast footage of the Russian president’s airplane arriving in Baku within the afternoon.
His go to to the Caucasus nation, a detailed accomplice of Moscow and Turkey but in addition a serious power provider to Western international locations, comes in opposition to the backdrop of an unprecedented Ukrainian navy offensive on Russian soil.
Putin will meet his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev to debate bilateral relations and “worldwide and regional points,” the Kremlin stated.
The 2 leaders will dine on Sunday night on the official residence of the Azerbaijani president, the official native information company Asertac reported.
On Monday, Aliyev and Putin will signal joint paperwork and make statements to the press, the Russian information company Ria Novosti reported.
Putin can even lay a wreath on the grave of Heydar Aliyev, the present chief’s father, who was president from 1993 to 2003.
The Kremlin beforehand stated it will additionally talk about “the problem of settling the battle between Azerbaijan and Armenia.”
Azerbaijan recaptured the mountainous enclave in September 2023 from Armenian separatists who had held it for 3 a long time.
Armenia has accused Russia of offering inadequate help in its battle with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Since then, Armenia has sought to deepen its ties with Western international locations, particularly the USA, a lot to the chagrin of Moscow, which views each former Soviet republics as being inside its sphere of affect.
Azerbaijan is a serious producer of pure fuel, which many European international locations have turned to to compensate for the sharp discount in Russian provides following the beginning of the battle in Ukraine in February 2022.
It is going to additionally host the COP29 local weather convention in November.
Putin’s final go to to Azerbaijan was in September 2018.
Putin has been below arrest warrant by the Worldwide Felony Courtroom since March 2023 for the “deportation” of Ukrainian youngsters to Russia, an accusation the Kremlin denies.
Though the specter of arrest has restricted Putin’s overseas journey, Azerbaijan shouldn’t be a signatory to the Rome Statute treaty that established the ICC.
