Before the eyes of the German Chancellor, the president of Azerbaijan: Germans and Russians met secretly in Baku

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that former senior German and Russian officials met in Baku this month to discuss the possibilities of ending the war in Ukraine.

"Our territory was used for such a meeting without our knowledge. I cannot comment on the details, because we were not present at the meeting. However, flight data allows me to say that the secret meeting in Baku really took place," Aliyev told reporters in Berlin, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"If the purpose of this meeting was to contribute to the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine, we can only welcome it," Aliyev said. He added that the meeting took place from July 12 to 14.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that his government did not participate in organizing this meeting.

"I am not aware of any such meeting," Merz replied to reporters' question.

According to media reports, an unofficial German delegation, including Ronald Pofalla, former chief of staff to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Matthias Platzeck, former prime minister of the state of Brandenburg, met in the Azerbaijani capital with several close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian delegation, according to reports, included Valery Fadeev, chairman of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, as well as Viktor Zubkov, former deputy prime minister of Russia and currently chairman of the board of directors of state energy giant Gazprom. /Telegraph/ ...