“We learned about such a meeting in Baku from ‘The Times’ newspaper; we had no information about it. Naturally, we paid close attention to the article published in such a reputable media outlet and conducted an investigation.”
elchi reports that President Ilham Aliyev said this in response to a question about the meeting between German and Russian representatives in Baku during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The head of state noted that before arriving in Berlin yesterday, he had requested information from the State Border Service of Azerbaijan: “It was confirmed that the individuals mentioned in ‘The Times’ newspaper were in Azerbaijan at the same time. On July 12, two prominent figures—Mr. Pofalla, head of Chancellor Merkel’s Administration, and Mr. Platzeck—arrived in Baku on a Berlin-Baku flight and returned on July 14. At the same time, on July 12, former Russian Prime Minister Mr. Zubkov and the head of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Mr. Fadeyev, arrived in Baku from Moscow; one left Baku on July 13, and the other on July 14. We were not informed about this by the German or Russian sides. In other words, our territory was simply used without our knowledge. I cannot say anything concrete about whether such a meeting took place because we did not see it. However, the flight statistics I mentioned give reason to believe that such a secret meeting was held in Baku. If this meeting leads to the end of the Russia-Ukraine war, we certainly welcome it.”
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized once again that, in any case, the war must be stopped immediately: “Our goal is for the war to end and for peace to be ensured in the region.”