US EditionAzerbaijan’s Aliyev Skips Informal CIS Summit in St. Petersburg
Aliyev skips the CIS summit citing a busy schedule amid ongoing tensions following a passenger plane crash and other disputes with Russia over the past year.
- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will skip the informal Commonwealth of Independent States summit in St. Petersburg on Dec. 22, Azertag reported, citing a busy schedule while the Kremlin prepared for his arrival.
- Relations have deteriorated over the past year amid disputes including drone strikes tied to Azerbaijani-linked sites, shutdown of Russian propaganda outlets, detentions, and cancelled cultural events.
- Investigations show the December 2024 Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane was hit by Russian air-defence fire and crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, while President Vladimir Putin acknowledged missile launches.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said `Indeed, all heads of state have very busy schedules, especially in December, in the run-up to the New Year`, after the Kremlin accepted Azerbaijan's explanation for Aliyev's absence from CIS meetings.
- Earlier this year, Aliyev last attended a CIS event in October when he traveled to Dushanbe for the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting; President Vladimir Putin welcomed leaders at the Hermitage Museum, reviewing 2025 cooperation and plans for the coming year.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev skips St. Petersburg CIS summit as ties with Russia sour after deadly plane shootdown
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declined to travel to St. Petersburg for an informal summit of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) due to a “busy work schedule,” the Azerbaijani state news agency AZERTAC reported. On December 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow expected Aliyev to arrive on Monday, December 22. “Yes, we are waiting. We are waiting, we are preparing,” Peskov told an RIA Novosti correspondent …
Putin received CIS leaders in St. Petersburg for talks on trade and security. The trade volume reached 90 billion dollars. But an important player canceled.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, did not attend the informal summit of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and he did not participate in the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Council on the eve of the day.
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