Germany and Russian Federation held secret meeting in Baku this month to discuss ending war in Ukraine, - Aliyev
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated that a secret meeting took place in Baku this month between former senior officials from Russia and Germany, who discussed ways of ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Bloomberg quotes Aliyev’s statement during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, reports Censor.NET.
More about the meeting
"Our territory was used for such a meeting without our knowledge. […] I cannot comment on the details, as we were not present at the meeting. However, the flight data allow me to confirm that the secret meeting in Baku did indeed take place", he said.
According to him, the meeting took place on 12–14 July. He added that if it was intended to help bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, "we can only welcome that".
Who was at the meeting?
- According to Bloomberg, citing media reports, the unofficial German delegation included Ronald Pofalla, former chief of staff to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Matthias Platzeck, former head of the federal state of Brandenburg.
- Representing the Russian side at the meeting in Baku were Valery Fadeev, who chairs the Russian President’s Council on Civil Society and Human Rights, and Viktor Zubkov, who chairs Gazprom’s board of directors.
Prior to that, German politicians had met with their Russian counterparts on at least four other occasions, including in Abu Dhabi. At the same time, Merz stated that he knew nothing about the meeting.
