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Akbar Novruz

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The meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and President Vladimir Putin in Dushanbe last week is seen as a crucial step toward overcoming the serious tension and coldness that emerged in Azerbaijani–Russian relations following the tragic downing of an Azerbaijani plane in Russian airspace on December 25 last year.

How can we assess the outcomes of the Dushanbe meeting overall?

Did the revanchist forces in Armenia, who sought to exploit this temporary chill in relations, ultimately fail in their plans? And can this meeting be viewed as a sign that cooperation between Baku and Moscow will continue — as both sides say — in the “spirit of alliance”? Should this meeting be considered the beginning of a new stage in bilateral relations?

To explore these questions, Azernews correspondent discusses several key points and examines various perspectives shared by experts:

Geopolitical analyst Irina Tsukerman, President of Scarab Rising, Inc., believes the Dushanbe meeting represents not just diplomacy, but strategic recalibration. She notes that “the meeting symbolizes not only a handshake after the December 25th horror, but a critical realignment of two intersecting power agendas.” Tsukerman emphasizes that both leaders chose pragmatism over speculation or third-party manipulation — particularly from Baku’s standpoint.

Ilyas Huseynov, Senior Advisor at the Center for Social Research, on the other hand, views the meeting as a crucial opportunity to normalize relations and restore political dialogue. He notes that, while questions remained about the plane crash, cooperation in the economic sphere never stopped — a fact that reflected the resilience of the Azerbaijani–Russian partnership:

Amid the tensions that had emerged between Russia and Azerbaijan, the meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and President Vladimir Putin created new opportunities for normalization.

Although certain questions and misunderstandings remained, economic cooperation continued to expand, which is also reflected in official statistics. These developments form an important foundation for resolving outstanding issues and give hope that relations between Baku and Moscow will soon be fully restored.

Further development of bilateral ties is expected to continue in line with the spirit and principles of the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed on February 22, 2022. Azerbaijan has never been interested in damaging relations with Russia; however, there were legitimate questions regarding the plane crash incident.

The meeting in Dushanbe, held shortly before the investigation’s completion, gave a new impulse to dialogue and cooperation. The tête-à-tête discussion between the two leaders serves as a key step toward resolving many of the pending issues — and we are already seeing tangible results, such as the release of detained individuals and the softening of criminal charges.

This meeting demonstrates that both sides are focused on pragmatic, forward-looking diplomacy. It has not only reduced tensions but also reaffirmed the mutual commitment to allied partnership and regional stability.

And finally, Irish historian and political analyst Patrick Walsh interprets the meeting as a tangible step toward rapprochement. He highlights that “President Putin offered a more substantial apology, acknowledging responsibility for the plane tragedy and promising compensation, a move that helped clear the path for renewed dialogue.