Secret German-Russian meeting on Ukraine war took place in Baku without authorities’ knowledge, Aliyev says

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed that former senior German and Russian officials held a secret meeting in Baku earlier this month to discuss ending Russia's war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, corroborating earlier media reports about the undisclosed talks.

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on 21 July, Aliyev said the meeting took place in the Azerbaijani capital between 12 and 14 July. He said Azerbaijani authorities had not been aware of the gathering at the time but later confirmed it through flight records.

"Our territory was used for such a meeting without our knowledge," Aliyev told reporters. "I cannot comment on the details, as we were not present at the meeting. However, the flight data allows me to state that a secret meeting did take place in Baku."

Former officials reportedly attended

Bloomberg reported that the unofficial German delegation included Ronald Pofalla, former chief of staff to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Matthias Platzeck, the former minister-president of Brandenburg.

The Russian delegation reportedly included Valery Fadeyev, head of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, and Viktor Zubkov, a former Russian prime minister who now chairs the board of state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

The reported participants were former or unofficial representatives rather than serving government officials.

Merz says Berlin was not involved

Merz said the German government had no role in the reported discussions.

"I'm not aware of any such meeting," the chancellor said when asked about Aliyev's remarks during the joint press conference.

Aliyev said that if the meeting had been intended to help bring an end to Russia's war against Ukraine, "we can only welcome that," but added that he did not know what had been discussed.

It remains unclear who organized the meeting and who was aware of it.