“We learned about the holding of such a meeting in Baku from 'The Times' newspaper, we had no information about this. Naturally, we carefully examined the article published in such a reputable media outlet and conducted an investigation.”
Medianews.az reports, citing APA, that President Ilham Aliyev said this in response to a question about the meeting between German and Russian delegates held in Baku, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The head of state stated that before arriving in Berlin yesterday, Azerbaijan requested information from the State Border Service:
“It was confirmed that the individuals named in 'The Times' newspaper were simultaneously in Azerbaijan. On July 12, two prominent persons – one being Mr. Pofalla, head of Ms. Merkel’s Administration, and Mr. Platzek arrived in Baku on the Berlin-Baku flight and returned on July 14. At the same time, on July 12, the former Prime Minister of Russia, Mr. Zubkov, and the head of the Civic Chamber and Human Rights Council under the President of Russia, Mr. Fadeyev, came from Moscow to Baku, one left on July 13, and the other on July 14. We were not informed about this by Germany or Russia. That is, our territory was used without our knowledge. As for whether such a meeting took place, I cannot say anything specific because we did not observe it. However, the flight statistics I mentioned give grounds to say that such a secret meeting took place in Baku. If this meeting will bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, of course, we applaud it.”
President Ilham Aliyev once again emphasized that in any case, the war must stop immediately:
“Our goal is that the war stops and peace is ensured in the region.”