Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed deals on security and energy cooperation with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Saturday, he said, as Kyiv seeks to leverage its experience in defending its airspace from Russia. After the latest wave of conflict in the Middle East that began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran in late February, multiple nations have sought Ukraine’s assistance and expertise in downing Iran’s long-range drones. Zelenskyy said the two countries had signed an agreement relating to military-industrial cooperation.
Aliyev said military-industrial partnerships between the two countries had “wide-ranging perspectives” and that the two leaders had discussed joint defence production. He did not specify that he had signed any deals.
Zelenskyy has also sought to reinvigorate peace talks with Russia, which were being mediated by the US until it became more focused on its campaign against Iran. The Ukrainian leader said he had discussed with Aliyev the possibility of having a meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Azerbaijan.“We are ready for the next talks [to be] in Azerbaijan if Russia will be ready for diplomacy,” he said.