Ukraine and Azerbaijan signed six cooperation agreements on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced, as he seeks to share Kyiv's drone expertise amid the Middle East war. Zelensky has secured several defense deals with Gulf countries that have faced Iranian drone attacks, offering Ukraine's experience after more than four years of relentless Russian strikes.
Security and Defense Cooperation
“We have signed six documents today,” Zelensky said in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, without specifying the fields. “Today, the number one area is security. This concerns the defense-industrial complex,” he added. “We have shared our experience in countering the aggressor today.”
Speaking alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Zelensky revealed that Ukrainian drone experts are already working in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea that borders southern Russia.
Background of the Agreements
In early March, drones launched from Iran hit an Azerbaijani airport and exploded near a school, wounding four people and raising fears of the conflict spilling over into the Caucasus. Since then, already strained relations between Baku and Tehran have worsened.
Zelensky also expressed readiness to hold trilateral talks on ending the war with Russia in Azerbaijan, if Moscow shows willingness. “We shared with the president of Azerbaijan that we are ready for trilateral talks,” said Zelensky.
Previous Support and Strained Ties
Azerbaijan has repeatedly expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sent humanitarian aid after the Russian invasion in 2022. Ties between Moscow and Baku have cooled over the past year, following an incident in 2024 when an Azerbaijani passenger plane was mistakenly hit by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, causing a crash that killed 38 people.
