Yesterday we supposedly said that Kondratyuk, the deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, hardly visited Baku on demining issues, or only on demining issues, as he stated in a Facebook post. It turns out that Kondratyuk held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Bayramov in Baku. It was reported by Interfax-Ukraine, referring to the press service of the Verkhovna Rada.
Accordingly, Bayramov accepted the invitation to participate in the international conference on the restoration of Ukraine in Berlin in June and assured that “the nature of strategic cooperation has not changed” in Azerbaijani-Ukrainian relations. However, the deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada invited Azerbaijan to participate in the “Peace Summit” to be convened in Switzerland.
He expressed hope that Azerbaijan will be involved in the development of the principles proposed by the President of Ukraine, at least in “energy security and demining issues”. Kondratyuk believes that “friendly Azerbaijan will join the international coalition for the repatriation of forcibly deported Ukrainian children.” According to the source, Jeyhun Bayramov assured the Verkhovna Rada deputy speaker that the Azerbaijani people “support the Ukrainian people” more than anyone else.
Everything, as they say, is according to the protocol, but the question is why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan did not spread an official message about the Bayramov-Kontratyuk negotiations, even in the form of a social media post of the press spokesperson. What is the meaning of this reserved attitude of Baku? After negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation in Moscow, Ilham Aliyev defined the “upper threshold” of this stage in relations with Ukraine: only humanitarian aid.
Kiev proposes that Azerbaijan participate in the international conference on the reconstruction of post-conflict Ukraine, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, according to the press service of the Verkhovna Rada, gives an agreement in principle. Kiev again “wants” to see Azerbaijan among the participants of the “Peace Summit” to be convened in Switzerland. Moreover, he suggests that Baku should be involved in the development of some principles of settlement.
It is noteworthy that not a representative of the executive power, but the deputy speaker of the parliament was sent from Kyiv to Baku to present such delicate proposals. Will there be discussions between Kyiv and Baku at a higher level, let’s say, at the level of foreign ministers? Some Azerbaijani experts believe that the West has set the problem of “tearing Aliyev from Putin”. What if everything is Aliyev’s game and he himself wants to “break away” from Putin?
Political commentator Mirkadyrov made a brief post on Facebook. “In 1920 on April 28, Bolshevik Russia occupied Azerbaijan. God forbid, there won’t be a second one.” Azerbaijan’s public opinion has always been anti-Russian and remains so. Moscow-Baku cooperation has not only cultural but also geopolitical interests in common. A decade ago, political scientist Alizade defined that Putin and Aliyev have only one thing in common: “both came out of the same building of the CPSU and the KGB.” That solidarity has already done its dirty work: there is no Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh. Apparently, Aliyev understands that the Russian-Azerbaijani “absorption” of Armenia is less likely.
Aliyev stated that the recognition and respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine does not prevent the deepening of Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation. Moscow has not commented on it in any way. No matter how high the propaganda “notes” may be, Putin undoubtedly has a problem coming out of the Ukraine crisis with dignity, since the alternative is a pan-European full-scale war. And if Putin has in a certain sense appointed Aliyev as a mediator of Russian-Ukrainian relations?
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