Gabala, April 25, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered press statements in Gabala on April 25.

The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Honorable Mr. President, distinguished guests.

I once again sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan.

Our meetings are held on a regular basis. This is our seventh meeting over the last four years. Our recent meetings took place on the sidelines of events of international organizations. I recall that your first visit to Azerbaijan as President took place in 2019. Our personal relationship also began at that time and continues to develop successfully. I also recall my visit to Kyiv in January 2022. The exchange of views held during that visit, as well as our subsequent contacts, have further elevated Azerbaijan-Ukraine relations to a higher level.

Our cooperation has a very strong political foundation. In 2008 in Kyiv and in 2011 in Baku, two documents on strategic partnership were signed, and these are very important political documents. These documents reflect mutual respect for our countries’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and the inviolability of borders. Azerbaijan and Ukraine support—and will continue to support—each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in all international organizations.

Two important events took place last year: consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission took place in Baku. During our conversation today, we also exchanged views on holding these events in Ukraine in the coming period. We are successfully cooperating in many areas, and this cooperation was reaffirmed once again.

Among the issues discussed, in addition to political dialogue, I would especially like to mention cooperation in the field of energy. There are both existing achievements—SOCAR has been operating successfully in Ukraine for many years—and, at the same time, excellent prospects and joint projects. Joint initiatives, including investment-related matters, were discussed in detail today. Naturally, the issue of further increasing trade turnover is also at the center of the agenda. Our trade turnover has exceeded half a billion dollars; however, I hope this figure will grow further in the coming years, as there are strong opportunities for that.

An exchange of views was also held regarding military-technical cooperation, and there are significant prospects in this area as well. The military-industrial complex is developing in both Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and there are excellent opportunities for joint production, as well as for joint production in the industrial sector as a whole. This was also discussed in detail today, and we aim to further deepen our cooperation in all other fields.

As I mentioned, the holding of seven meetings at the presidential level over the past four years—the last meeting having taken place two months ago in Munich—is a clear indicator. This demonstrates the dynamic nature of our relations. Today, we underscore mutual respect and the safeguarding of mutual interests. I am confident that today’s visit will make another important contribution to the development of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Once again, I sincerely welcome you and all our Ukrainian guests.

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Then, the President of Ukraine made the statement.

Statement by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

- Dear Mr. President, thank you very much.

I would like to express my gratitude to you. I am also thankful for the attention shown to our delegation.

We have had meetings on various international platforms. During our meetings last year, we noted that we have always supported one another. I mentioned that we have always supported the territorial integrity and independence of Azerbaijan, and likewise, we have seen the same attitude toward Ukraine.

Of course, this is my first visit to Azerbaijan since the war began, and I have come here with my delegation. I thank you.

Today we signed six documents. Our delegations will unequivocally exchange views regarding their details. Regarding the sectors discussed today, the number one field is security. Concerning growth in the defense industry, Ukraine has demonstrated its strength of resistance arising from the conditions of war, and we would like to share our expert knowledge. Today our experts are in Azerbaijan, providing support to their Azerbaijani colleagues. We will continue this partnership hereafter and begin joint production.

There are other important sectors. Of course, these contribute to the security of our peoples and countries, and in the true sense of the word, we would like these ties between our countries to be enhanced further. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. President for the fact that our partnership continued even during those very harsh winter conditions. At the same time, of course, we have taken air defense measures. Nevertheless, regarding energy supplies, during such a very difficult period, we received 11 aid packages from Azerbaijan. We express our gratitude for this assistance. We have spoken at length about this. Mr. President, we also specifically thank you for helping our children. Those children, our sons and daughters, come from frontline regions. They have faced hardships and have suffered from the war. We thank you for your support. More than five hundred Ukrainian children are here, and we are grateful to you for this humanitarian support.

First, we discussed the energy sector and reviewed our cooperation. Today, this represents a major challenge not only for Ukraine but for the entire world, including Europe. A war is ongoing with Iran. In such circumstances, we need reliable partners. We therefore express our gratitude to you. We are also very pleased that Azerbaijani students, in most cases, choose Ukraine as their destination for education. We are grateful for this as well.

At the same time, we discussed peace efforts. It is extremely important for Ukraine that the war eventually comes to an end. Of course, we are grateful to the partners mediating this process. We are grateful to the President of Azerbaijan. We have had negotiations in trilateral and other formats. Some took place in Türkiye, and later we met with our American partners in Geneva; we would also like to conduct our negotiations in Azerbaijan – provided that the Russian side also chooses this diplomacy.

Mr. President, I believe that when it comes to the defense industry, security is a field where we can establish very deep cooperation, and we must work hard to achieve this goal.

Regarding the production of weapons, this can bring stability to our peoples. Our countries have sufficient capacity to withstand and address all challenges. If we take any country, even in theory, if it faces aggression, it must be capable of conducting military operations and defending itself. In this regard, we wish Azerbaijan success on its path toward stability and peace. We also extend the same wishes to ourselves.

Today, we are in the most difficult and severe conditions of war. To be honest with you, Mr. President, I saw a report. Russia has launched new airstrikes in various locations. The destruction is visible. They are attacking railways, energy infrastructure, and civilian facilities. Unfortunately, some individuals have already lost their lives today, and there are those who have been injured.

Mr. President, I am grateful to you for expressing your condolences. Thank you very much for organizing this entire visit

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The Presidents of Azerbaijan and Ukraine then held a brief conversation.