President Aliyev’s rock-solid arguments Baku’s messages to Moscow

In an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya on August 26, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev provided a direct and objective assessment of the current state of Azerbaijani-Russian relations. His statements reflect both the legitimacy of Azerbaijan's grievances toward the Russian side and a willingness to engage in dialogue—but only on the basis of equality and fairness.

As is known, the cooling of Azerbaijani-Russian relations began after a Russian air defense system shot down an AZAL aircraft in December last year on the Baku–Grozny route, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

“The shooting down of an Azerbaijani civilian plane by Russia, and the reaction of Russian officials to that, created a very big frustration and disappointment in Azerbaijan,” Ilham Aliyev said in the interview.

The Azerbaijani president has maintained the same stance since the very first hours of the tragedy, for which Russia continues to try to deny responsibility, despite the fact that Azerbaijan possesses all the evidence. In his interview with Al Arabiya, the head of our state also addressed this issue.

“We have the remains of the plane, and immediately I sent the team. It's not far away. It's only a 40-minute flight. Immediately, our team was there on site, and they filmed everything, so you can find it on the Internet. All the fuselage was full of holes from shrapnel. It was damaged by a Russian air defense system,” Ilham Aliyev said, emphasising that “…shooting down the plane should not have happened in the first place.”

The president’s view aligns with the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944), which clearly states that “contracting States recognise that every State must refrain from using weapons against civil aircraft in flight, and that in the event of interception, the lives of persons on board and the safety of the aircraft must not be jeopardised.”

The head of state also recalled how Azerbaijan behaved when, during the Second Karabakh War, a Russian helicopter was accidentally shot down by the Azerbaijani side.

“….on the last day of the war, on the ninth of November, by chance, Azerbaijan shot down a Russian helicopter which had approached the Azerbaijani border, where it shouldn't have been in the first place. Because for 30 years, Russian helicopters had never approached the Azerbaijani border from the territory of Armenia. It was coming from Armenia. So for those who shot it down, it was obvious that an Armenian helicopter was penetrating our territory, so they shot it down. Immediately, on the same day, I called the Russian president and apologized. We immediately paid compensation to the families of those who were killed—the pilots—and to the Ministry of Defense. We started an investigation, and those who made that tragic mistake were brought to justice. We haven't seen anything of that sort from the Russian side. So that tragic event on the ninth of November and our behavior made us absolutely ready to expect the same attitude toward Azerbaijan, because the two countries call themselves friends,” the Azerbaijani leader stated.

Instead of acting within the framework of mutual respect, something unimaginable began in Russia. Russian political rhetoric and media coverage in recent months have been replete with threats against Azerbaijan. The State Duma members and television propagandists have resorted to blackmail and insults against our state. Moreover, repressions have begun against representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia, which was mentioned by Ilham Aliyev in an interview.

“…these unmotivated attacks on Azerbaijanis in Russia started. Two people were killed and tortured, and then the official information was that they died of a heart attack. Even if they committed a crime 20 years ago, as they say, they are people. They must not be treated like that. What kind of attitude is that? there were Azerbaijani citizens among them, as well as Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin. That was an unprecedented act against our people. We are not responsible for the deterioration of relations. We only respond in a constructive and legal manner, but we will never tolerate any sign or demonstration of aggression or disrespect towards us,” President Aliyev stated.

Ilham Aliyev’s arguments are, so to speak, rock-solid, clearly showing that Baku is not the initiator of the current escalation in Azerbaijani-Russian relations.

Yet Russia continues to push its agenda, and a striking example of this is the recent Russian strikes on Azerbaijani energy facilities on Ukrainian territory, which Moscow justifies as a matter of “military necessity.” Any impartial observer, however, can see that this is intended as a show of pressure on Baku. As a classic thinker might put it, this is more than a crime—it is a mistake.

Azerbaijan has always built its relations with other states on the principle of reciprocity. A case in point is that, despite all of Russia’s counterproductive actions, last week the Russian-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation met in Astrakhan. Following the meeting, the co-chairs of the commission, Deputy Prime Ministers Alexey Overchuk and Shahin Mustafayev, signed a protocol confirming their readiness to continue constructive dialogue aimed at strengthening Azerbaijani-Russian relations across all areas of cooperation. This is not just a formality—it is a tangible tool for deepening economic ties. According to Russian data, around 1,800 companies with Russian capital currently operate in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan knows how to be both a friend and a fighter. And for those who doubt the country’s ability to firmly and decisively defend its national interests and achieve justice, they only need to recall the outcome of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Contrary to the plans not only of Armenia and the global Armenian lobby, but also of all three co-chair countries of the now-defunct OSCE Minsk Group, including Russia, the conflict ended in a military-political triumph for the independent Republic of Azerbaijan.