On February 26, Azerbaijan sent two aircrafts carrying humanitarian aid worth more than €5 million ($5.6 million) to Ukraine amidst the ongoing war with Russia. In a post shared on his official Twitter account, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the humanitarian aid and medicines.
In another post shared on his official Twitter account, Zelenskyy stated that President Ilham Aliyev instructed the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) in Ukraine to provide ambulances and vehicles of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine with fuel free of charge in all its 55 filling stations across 11 regions of Ukraine. At the same time, Azerbaijan offered its mediation efforts to help start negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. On February 24, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Araz Azimov, in the special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, stressed that “the current situation must be settled by peaceful diplomatic means in full compliance with the norms and principles of international law, including on the basis of the sovereignty of states, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, as well as the indivisibility of security in the OSCE area.”
Azerbaijan has a deep historical and strategic ties with Ukraine. Last January 14, President Ilham Aliyev visited Ukraine at the invitation of the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the visit between, six bilateral documents aimed at deepening and strengthening ties between Azerbaijan and Ukraine were signed. In his statement for the press following the ceremony of signing the documents, President Ilham Aliyev noted that “soon we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, on 6 February. I must say that during independence, Ukraine and Azerbaijan have always supported each other, always supported each other’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, and this support is reflected in the Joint Declaration we signed today.” President Ilham Aliyev also emphasized that “friendly ties bind our people together, and as you know, there is a great interest and respect for the culture of the Ukrainian people in Azerbaijan. This respect can also be seen in Baku.
A monument to great Ukrainian son Taras Shevchenko was erected on my initiative in one of the central parts of Baku a few years ago, and both Baku residents and visitors to our city come to this park to have rest. At the same time, one of the largest squares in Baku is named after Ukraine. So, these facts in themselves show that there is an excellent history of relations between our peoples, and we maintain these relations.”
/Argumentum.al
