AZE.US
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Azerbaijan has sent a clear political signal to Moscow, Azerbaijani political analyst Eldar Namazov said in an interview with ITON-TV.
Namazov, a historian and former aide to late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, said the visit was significant not only because of the agreements signed between Baku and Kyiv, but also because of the broader regional context.
According to Namazov, this was Zelenskyy’s first official bilateral visit to a CIS country since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine. He said the trip marked a new stage in Azerbaijan-Ukraine cooperation, including in the defense and military-technical sectors.
Namazov noted that Azerbaijan has supported Ukraine since the beginning of the war, including through humanitarian assistance and aid to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. He said Baku had sent 11 aid packages to help Ukraine repair and maintain its energy system after Russian strikes.
He also pointed to the rehabilitation of Ukrainian children in Azerbaijan as another example of Baku’s support for Kyiv.
The analyst said the new agreements between Azerbaijan and Ukraine could include cooperation in drone and anti-drone technologies, an area where Ukraine has gained significant wartime experience.
But Namazov argued that the political meaning of the visit went beyond defense cooperation. In his view, the meeting in Baku was also a response to Moscow’s attempts to keep the Karabakh issue alive through its influence in Armenia.
He said Russia had not accepted Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War or the fact that the Karabakh issue had been closed as part of the peace process between Baku and Yerevan.
Namazov said recent signals from Moscow suggested that the Kremlin would like to see pro-Russian forces return to power in Armenia and reopen the Karabakh question.
“This is a threat to Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. We will not tolerate this,” Namazov said.
He argued that Baku would take all necessary steps to prevent any attempt to revive the conflict.
According to Namazov, Zelenskyy’s visit should therefore be seen as a warning to Russia: if Moscow continues policies that threaten Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, Baku has its own ways to respond.
The interview also touched on Iran and the wider Middle East. Namazov said Tehran was facing a deepening crisis under economic pressure and maritime restrictions, while Russia, in his view, lacked the resources to play a decisive role in the region because of its own war and economic problems.
For Baku, however, the main message was closer to home. Namazov said Azerbaijan considers the Karabakh issue closed and will not allow outside powers to bring it back to the negotiating table.
AZE.US