Kremlin leader Putin to visit Azerbaijan
Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling to the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea amidst heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops in the Kursk region. According to the Kremlin in Moscow, Putin will be in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku on August 18 and 19 for a state visit. The agenda includes negotiations with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the development of the strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as issues of international and regional politics.
Aliyev, who rules his country with an iron fist like Putin and is criticized for serious human rights violations, visited Moscow in April. According to the Kremlin, several documents will be signed during Putin's visit to Baku, but no details were provided. Despite being wanted internationally for war crimes in Ukraine, Putin does not have to fear arrest in Azerbaijan. The oil- and gas-rich South Caucasus country is also an important energy supplier to the European Union.
It is expected that Putin will also comment on peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and its neighbor Armenia. The South Caucasus countries have been working on an agreement since Armenia lost the war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and handed control of the area to Azerbaijan. Russia was long considered a protector of Armenia, but Putin has recently faced criticism for siding with Azerbaijan in the decades-long conflict and giving Aliyev a major victory. The Kremlin denies this and stresses that Armenia itself renounced Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Kremlin announced that the Commission, in reference to the European Union, will adopt the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1, as part of Putin's visit agreements with Aliyev. Despite international war crime allegations, Putin does not face arrest in Azerbaijan due to its strategic energy role towards the European Union.
