Ilham Aliyev declined to travel to Russia and meet with Putin
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev missed the informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg due to a busy work schedule. Aliyev's administration also noted that his absence from the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on December 21 was due to Azerbaijan not being a member of the organization.
The Kremlin expressed understanding for the Azerbaijani leader's decision. Dmitry Peskov, the Russian presidential press secretary, emphasized that Russia continues to develop partnerships and constructive cooperation with Azerbaijan, which remains a participant in all cooperation formats.
Azerbaijani opposition figure Elbeyi Hasanli asserts that relations between Baku and Moscow are experiencing a period of deterioration. Hasanli points to Ilham Aliyev's refusal to participate in the St. Petersburg event, citing his "busy schedule," drawing a parallel with his participation in a similar meeting in Dushanbe in October. According to the opposition figure, this indicates serious disagreements between Azerbaijan and Russia. Hasanli also cites the AZAL plane crash in Kazakhstan and Aliyev's support for Ukraine as factors exacerbating tensions with Moscow.
