Azerbaijan hosts back-channel Ukraine talks as geopolitical chess game heats up

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed that former officials from Germany and Russia sat down in Baku this month to talk about ending the war in Ukraine. No names were disclosed, no outcomes were announced, and the Kremlin promptly called Azerbaijan’s broader stance on the conflict “mistaken.”

Aliyev made the revelation during the Shusha Global Forum on July 13, 2026, where he also reiterated that borders of states cannot be changed by force. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov specifically called out Azerbaijan’s pro-Ukraine stance as wrong.

The relationship between Russia and Azerbaijan has been deteriorating on multiple fronts. Protests erupted over Russian military strikes that impacted Azerbaijani interests in Ukraine. A December 2024 plane crash linked to Russian military actions further poisoned the well.

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