Shifting ground in Russia–Azerbaijan relations
The tensions between Moscow and Baku seemed to thaw in Dushanbe this past October, as Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev met for the first time since the catastrophic downing of an Azerbaijani passenger jet last year. In a rare gesture, Putin offered a guarded apology – a move seen as an attempt to halt months of escalating hostility. Yet, beneath the optics of reconciliation, the meeting revealed the limits of the two leaders’ once pragmatic relationship.
December 8, 2025 -
Murad Muradov
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Hot TopicsIssue 6 2025Magazine
Photo: President of the Russian Federation website (CC)
On October 9th 2025, presidents Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin held a bilateral meeting during the CIS Summit in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe. It was their first encounter since relations between Azerbaijan and Russia sharply deteriorated following the tragedy of the downing of an Azerbaijani Airlines jet heading to Grozny in December 2024. In Dushanbe, the Russian leader finally apologized (in his typical ambiguous manner though) for the catastrophe, admitting that the plane had been struck by a Russian air defence missile. He also promised to bring the culprits to justice and pay state-level compensation.
At this meeting, Putin and Aliyev also broadly discussed a bilateral economic agenda, hailing growing trade figures and ongoing logistical projects. Soon after the meeting, the director of the now-closed Baku office of the Russian media agency Sputnik, Igor Kartavykh, who was arrested this June, was released. At the same time in Moscow, Mammadali Aghayev, the ethnically Azerbaijani former director of the famous Satire theatre, was released as well. These events prompted Azerbaijani media and experts to talk about a de-escalation between the two countries.
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Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Russia, Russian-Azerbaijani relations, South Caucasus
