Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe yesterday during his state visit to Tajikistan, marking the first comprehensive bilateral talks between the two leaders in recent months, RIA Novosti reported.

The meeting, which had been announced in advance, follows a brief and largely informal interaction between the presidents at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China last month. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted that no substantial discussion had occurred at that time.

This in-person dialogue was their first since October of last year, with the most recent communication taking place on October 7, when Aliyev called Putin on his birthday.  Peskov described that phone conversation as significant.

According to the Kremlin, the Dushanbe talks focused primarily on the state of Russia-Azerbaijan relations.  While Peskov refrained from commenting on the Azerbaijani position, he emphasized that the Russian side remains positively inclined toward strengthening ties.

Earlier in September, Putin acknowledged existing challenges in bilateral relations but expressed confidence that shared interest in cooperation would help overcome them.

Sensitive aviation incident addressed

According to RBC, one of the central topics discussed was the recent crash involving an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft. Putin began the meeting by addressing the “sensitive issue,” stating that the tragedy may have been caused by the presence of a Ukrainian drone in Russian airspace.

The Russian president claimed that two air defense missiles exploded near the aircraft, likely causing damage with shrapnel. He reiterated his earlier apology for the incident, expressed condolences to the victims’ families, and assured that Moscow is fully cooperating with the investigation.

“We are committed from the very beginning to providing an objective assessment of what happened and to identifying the true cause,” Putin said, as quoted by Interfax.

He also promised that Russia would provide all necessary compensation related to the crash.