Putin and Aliyev in China "each stuck to their positions": "They just greeted each other and had a few words of conversation."

Putin and Aliyev in China "Each Sticking to Their Positions": "Just Greeted, Exchanged a Few Words"

Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan met briefly during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, but the interaction ended there.

Photo caption: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (from right to left)

Before Vladimir Putin's visit to China, many people speculated whether he would meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as "SCO") meeting — even if it was just a "brief greeting."

On the day before the Russian delegation departed for China, Yuri Ushakov, a presidential aide, responded ambiguously when asked about the possibility of such a meeting: "Everything is possible." He added, "All parties need to have the will to achieve a meeting," which clearly implied Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan, representing Azerbaijan).

During this SCO meeting, the two presidents' schedules did intersect, but the meeting was very brief. Putin mentioned this at a press conference held in Beijing, stating, "In international relations, various issues may arise due to current situations or certain political environments."

"I believe that the fundamental relationship between Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as the mutual interests of both sides in developing this relationship, will eventually bring everything back on track," Putin said. He pointed out that he greeted Aliyev and his wife during the SCO meeting and exchanged a few words with them.

"It is likely that both sides had planned strategies in advance to deal with the situation where the two presidents were seated next to each other in public," speculated political analyst Mikhail Nizhmatkov.

"At least, Dmitry Peskov (the president's spokesperson) stated in late August 2025 that 'he hopes they will have the opportunity to meet during the SCO meeting tomorrow,' which may indicate that bilateral consultations continued until the last moment. It cannot be ruled out that both sides also discussed details such as 'how the presidents should interact if they are adjacent in a public event.'"

"Free News" (hereinafter referred to as "SP"): In your opinion, are both sides waiting for the other to take action? What specific action? Why wasn't an official dialogue held? Before the SCO summit, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of a "brief greeting."

"Bilateral contact has never ceased. On August 22, 2025, the Russia-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation convened, and many observers saw this meeting as a 'signal of easing tensions,' which is not without reason. Moreover, the Russian government explicitly stated in its post-meeting statement that 'both sides confirmed their willingness to continue constructive dialogue on all areas of cooperation.' Additionally, Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shakhin Mustafayev emphasized during the meeting that Baku 'is ready to develop and deepen economic cooperation with Russia in all areas.'"

Specifically, on the level of public statements by core representatives of the administration and members of the presidential team, Russian statements have been more restrained and focused on easing tensions. However, it is worth noting that in late July 2025, Azerbaijani President's assistant Khikmet Hajiyev told the Berlin Daily that "the Russia-Azerbaijan relationship has not undergone a fundamental change, but there have been some misunderstandings in recent months, and the tense atmosphere in the bilateral agenda has been continuously increasing."

At the same time, when assessing the public opinion environment related to this crisis, it is necessary to consider that the remarks of ordinary members of parliament in various countries are usually more sharp, but these statements have limited reference value for judging the official positions of the governments of these countries.

Evidently, the core reason why the two presidents did not hold a meeting during the SCO summit was that their differences remained significant. Moreover, Baku's attitude was likely more cold. The impression currently is that not only do the two sides fail to reach consensus on those openly disclosed issues that have escalated tensions, but they also have differences on other "unpublicized topics."

"Free News": On August 22, Putin sent birthday wishes to the First Vice President of Azerbaijan, the First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, and asked her to convey greetings to Ilham Aliyev. But shortly after, Aliyev made a controversial interview involving "occupation." How should this contradiction be interpreted?

"It should be noted that in the interview with Saudi Arabia's Arab Television, the Azerbaijani president included both negative criticism of Russia and neutral statements. If Baku had originally planned to quickly warm up relations with Moscow, then Ilham Aliyev would most likely have softened those statements that could be seen by Russia as signals of continued cooling down of relations."

For example, when talking about the events of 1920, he clearly accused "Russian troops" of "occupation," rather than using more historically neutral expressions like "Red Army of the Soviet Union" or "Red Army."

In answering questions from reporters, he detailed the differences with Moscow this year, but said nothing about the efforts both sides have made to establish dialogue — such as reports in July 2025 that the prosecutors general offices of Russia and Azerbaijan had contacted each other. Usually, when the relations between two countries are about to "warm up," the leaders of the countries tend to emphasize various cases of bilateral contacts in their statements."

At the same time, Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the crash of an Azerbaijani Airlines (Azal) plane in December 2024 was "a tragic mistake." When talking about building transport corridors through the South Caucasus, he repeatedly mentioned Russia in a neutral tone in the interview — if his intention was to "maximize the cooling down" of bilateral relations, he might have used vague expressions, such as simply referring to these routes as "extending north."

Essentially, the message conveyed by the Azerbaijani president in this interview was that the differences between the two sides have not been completely resolved, but the door to dialogue has not been completely closed either.

"Free News": How do you evaluate the results of Putin and Aliyev's trip to China? Did both sides achieve their expected goals?

"Many people expect such summits to produce 'historical resolutions' and 'major turning points,' but in fact, such meetings are usually part of a long negotiation process and also provide all parties with opportunities to conduct bilateral meetings and 'test positions' during multilateral activities. For Vladimir Putin, the important work directions of this summit include: negotiations with China, as well as meetings with representatives of a series of other participants, including India, Turkey, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc."