Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kiev is ready to hold trilateral peace talks in Azerbaijan “in the near future” if Russia “is ready for diplomacy.”
Speaking at a joint press conference after a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Zelenskyy said it is “very important” for Ukraine that Russia “finds the strength to end this unjust war.”
“Of course, we highly value the role of our partners in mediating this process,” he said, adding that peace efforts were discussed with Aliyev.
He added that six documents in various areas, including security, were signed during the meeting in Azerbaijan’s northern city of Gabala, as Ukraine pushes to share Kiev’s drone expertise amid the Middle East war.
Zelenskyy described the agreements on joint development of the countries’ defence industries as a “very serious step.”
Speaking alongside Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drone experts were already working in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea that borders southern Russia.
In early March, drones launched from Iran hit an Azerbaijani airport and exploded near a school, wounding four people and raising fears of a spillover of the conflict into the Caucasus.
Since then, already tepid relations between Baku and Tehran have declined further.
Aliyev said Kiev and Baku are engaged in “serious cooperation,” which was reaffirmed during the visit.
The Azerbaijani president said the two leaders also discussed expanding bilateral trade volume, which currently stands at more than $500 million.
Beyond political dialogue, he added, the sides also discussed cooperation in the energy sector.
US-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine were held several times, but the Iran war has stalled that process.
Ties between Moscow and Baku have cooled over the past year, after an Azerbaijani passenger plane was mistakenly hit by a Russian anti-aircraft missile in 2024, causing a crash that killed 38.
