Vasif Huseynov
On May 7, Azerbaijan announced that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would not attend Moscow’s May 9 Victory Day parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
Azerbaijani media attributed the visit cancellation to a series of negative developments in Russia-Azerbaijan relations since an Azerbaijani airplane crash in December 2024 likely caused by unintentional Russian military fire.
Unless Russia takes meaningful steps to address Azerbaijan’s grievances and rebuild mutual trust, the bilateral relationship is likely to remain stalled, characterized by cautious engagement and growing rupture.
On May 7, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov announced that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would not travel to Moscow to attend the May 9 Victory Day parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War (Interfax, May 7). According to Ushakov, Azerbaijan claimed that Aliyev “ha[d] to participate in internal events dedicated to [former president and Aliyev’s father] Heydar Aliyev.”
Earlier that day, Russian media reported—citing Ushakov—that Aliyev was among the world leaders expected to attend the Moscow Victory Day celebrations (TASS, May 7). In the end, Aliyev was the only leader from the post-Soviet region with otherwise cordial diplomatic relations with Russia who did not participate in the May 9 celebrations. The leaders of all five Central Asian republics, as well as those of Armenia and Belarus, were present. Aliyev’s absence raised several questions about the state of Russia-Azerbaijan relations in the wake of the December 25, 2024 airplane crash (see EDM, January 15).
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