Putin meets Azerbaijani president in Baku to strengthen ties as regional tensions persist

1 of 18 |

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took Russian President Vladimir Putin on a tour of the capital city of Baku on Monday during his two-day visit to the country.

2 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attend a state reception at the Gulustan Palace in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

3 of 18 |

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, right, greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

4 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, right, shake hands during their meeting at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

5 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks to attend a state reception hosted by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the Gulustan Palace in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

6 of 18 |

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, stand during their meeting at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

7 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, front, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stand during their meeting at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

8 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, second right, holds an icon during a visit to the Orthodox Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

9 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, right, during their meeting at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

10 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visit the Orthodox Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

11 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attend a meeting in extended format at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

12 of 18 |

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin drive a car in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

13 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, right, visit the Orthodox Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

14 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, second left, during their meeting at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

15 of 18 |

16 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, lays wreath at the tomb of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev at the Alley of Honor in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

17 of 18 |

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, right, greets Russian President Vladimir Putin at Zagulba state residence in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

18 of 18 |

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, lays wreath at the tomb of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev at the Alley of Honor in Baku, Azerbaijan, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

By AIDA SULTANOVA

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Russian leader Vladimir Putin held talks on Monday with his Azerbaijani counterpart as part of a two-day trip to secure Moscow’s under-pressure trade routes and shore up ties in the South Caucasus.

Business links were high on the agenda as Putin and President Ilham Aliyev met in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, with Aliyev announcing that $120 million had been earmarked to boost cargo transport between the two countries.

“We’re talking about the possibility of transporting 15 million tons of cargo per year or more,” he said, adding that the two countries crossed the $4 billion mark for Russia-Azerbaijan turnover last year and “neither of us think that is where things will stop,”

Such ties are a priority for Putin, who increasingly depends on countries such as Azerbaijan to access global markets because of sanctions imposed on Moscow over Russia’s war on Ukraine, said independent political scientist Zardusht Alizade.

“Azerbaijan is an important transit country for Russia at a time when it needs to have free access to world markets, including Iran and ports in the Indian Ocean,” Alizade told The Associated Press.

Not PARSE.LY: Azerbaijan government

Azerbaijan accused of ramping up repression of critics ahead of hosting UN climate summit

Greta Thunberg protests against Azerbaijan hosting global climate summit

Azerbaijan is the host of the UN’s climate conference, shining a spotlight on the petrostate

Putin’s overtures have been warmly welcomed by Baku. For Azerbaijan, retaining Moscow’s good-will is important for national security over tensions with neighboring Armenia, says Alizade.

Russia has been Armenia’s longtime sponsor and ally since the fall of the Soviet Union. But relations between the two countries have become increasingly strained since Sept. 2023, when Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign that took control of the Karabakh region, ending three decades of ethnic Armenian separatist rule there.

Armenia accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to in the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught. Moscow, which has a military base in Armenia, rejected the accusations, arguing that its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene.

Baku still hopes Moscow can pressure Armenia to normalize relations, said Alizade. “Russia can speed up the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.”