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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine and Azerbaijan signed six cooperation agreements, highlighting defense ties as Kyiv seeks to share its drone warfare experience.
“We have signed six documents today,” Zelenskyy said during a visit to Azerbaijan, without specifying all areas of cooperation.
“Today, the number one area is security. This concerns the defense-industrial complex,” he said. “We have shared our experience in countering the aggressor today.”
Speaking alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drone specialists are already working in Azerbaijan.
The visit comes amid heightened regional tensions following reports of drone strikes linked to Iran earlier this year, including an incident in March in which drones hit an Azerbaijani airport and exploded near a school, wounding four people.
The developments have further strained already fragile relations between Baku and Tehran.
Zelenskyy said the agreements, signed in Azerbaijan’s northern city of Gabala, include cooperation on joint development of defense industries, calling them a “very serious step.”
Aliyev said the two countries are engaged in “serious cooperation,” adding that discussions also covered expanding bilateral trade, which currently exceeds $500 million, as well as cooperation in the energy sector.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to hold trilateral talks with Russia in Azerbaijan “in the near future” if Moscow is willing to engage diplomatically.
“We shared with the president of Azerbaijan that we are ready for trilateral talks,” he said.
“It is very important for us that Russia finds the strength to end this unjust war,” he added.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly expressed support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and provided humanitarian assistance following Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Relations between Moscow and Baku have cooled over the past year, including after a 2024 incident in which an Azerbaijani passenger plane was mistakenly hit by a Russian air defense missile, killing 38 people.
U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have taken place several times but have stalled in recent weeks, partly due to the impact of the war involving Iran.
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