The talks held in the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia — Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin — will remain in the focus of experts and analysts for a long time. Over the past months, relations between Baku and Moscow have drawn enormous attention.
Not long ago, everything between the two countries appeared more than positive. In October 2024, the presidents held a full-format meeting. In the final days of 2024, Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Russian TV host Dmitry Kiselyov. But then came the catastrophe of the AZAL flight near Grozny — the event that marked the beginning of an unprecedented “chill” in bilateral relations.
Now, the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia have held another meeting, after which experts began speaking about normalization and a return of Baku–Moscow relations to a constructive course. Frankly, putting out such a crisis is in everyone’s interest. Both Azerbaijan and Russia are interested in constructive, good-neighborly, and allied relations.
However, the details of what happened in Dushanbe leave no doubt: this was a major diplomatic success for the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. From the outset, our country took a firm and principled position — Russia must acknowledge its responsibility for the plane crash, caused by its own air defense system in Russian airspace, pay compensation, and hold those responsible accountable.
Now, during the talks with President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Moscow’s responsibility, confirmed that Russian air defense missiles had exploded near the Azerbaijani plane, and acknowledged that a technical malfunction of the air defense system might have been one of the causes of the disaster. Furthermore, the Russian president promised to pay compensation (explicitly, compensation!) and bring those responsible to justice. And although Putin also mentioned Ukrainian drones in Russian airspace, it is clear that Moscow has pledged to fulfill Azerbaijan’s main demands. That, in itself, is a major diplomatic achievement. Our country did not retreat from its principled stance and succeeded in normalizing relations with Russia almost entirely on its own terms — thereby neutralizing serious and tangible threats.
It will be interesting to see how Russian propagandists — who not long ago portrayed Azerbaijanis as “the enemy” and openly called for launching a “Special Military Operation 2” against our country — will feel now. Their noise should not be overestimated, but when the President of Russia himself draws a line under all this hysteria and speaks of friendly and allied relations with Azerbaijan, that is significant.
There is another important aspect. President Aliyev is confidently “unblocking” the situation on other foreign policy fronts as well. After the cooling of ties during the “most pro-Armenian administration” of Biden–Blinken, Azerbaijan’s relations with the United States are again on the rise. Once again, Azerbaijan has not deviated from its principled position. Moreover, it was through U.S. mediation that talks on resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict took place — negotiations that finally put a “diplomatic full stop” to the issue. The peace process between Baku and Yerevan is proceeding according to the Azerbaijani roadmap.
At the summit of the European Political Community in Copenhagen, President Ilham Aliyev met with French President Emmanuel Macron. Unlike the talks with Putin, the details of this meeting remain behind closed doors — but the very fact of the meeting speaks volumes, especially since it took place at France’s initiative. This is a clear sign that it is Paris, not Baku, that is making concessions.
From all this, one can draw a key conclusion: Azerbaijan firmly and consistently defends its state and national interests in foreign policy. Yes, as diplomacy requires, we can be flexible and negotiate. But on matters of principle, Baku does not yield — and achieves its goals.
Moreover, it is evident that Azerbaijan’s growing political weight and authority on the world stage play a decisive role in this. We are no longer that “small southern republic” once looked down upon by “big political uncles.” The “Contract of the Century,” the logistics revolution, the Southern Gas Corridor, and most importantly, the brilliant and convincing victory in Karabakh and the restoration of territorial integrity — all this has truly changed global perceptions of Azerbaijan. Today, the world addresses our country with respect.
