Official: Azerbaijan’s no-show at recent CIS meeting not linked to Russia ties

The absence of the Azerbaijani delegation from the CIS Economic Council meeting in Moscow can be explained by a number of objective reasons and is in no way related to the current state of relations between Azerbaijan and Russia.

Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, made the remarks while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum in Shusha on July 20, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

"The absence of the Azerbaijani delegation at the meeting may be due to various factors, including changes in the personal schedules of delegation members," Hajiyev explained.

Responding to a question about a possible connection between the cancelled visit and the incident involving an AZAL aircraft in December 2024, the presidential aide stressed: “This event is held within the framework of the CIS. Issues on the bilateral agenda between Russia and Azerbaijan have nothing to do with it.”

Notably, Azerbaijan refused to take part in the 106th meeting of the Economic Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which was held in Moscow on July 18.

By Khagan Isayev