Despite preparations and positive statements from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not attend the informal summit of Commonwealth of the Independent States (CIS) on Monday in St. Petersburg.
The state-run media outlet Azertac wrote on the same day of the summit that Aliyev would not be able to attend the informal summit due to his ‘tight schedule’.
Aliyev had attended the previous CIS summit in October in Tajikistan.
Although Russia clearly expected Aliyev to attend the summit and appeared to be surprised by the last-minute cancellation, Peskov attempted to put a positive spin on the announcement, ‘they understood Aliyev’s reasons’.
‘No, we completely understand [Aliyev’s decision]. Indeed, all heads of state have very busy schedules, especially in December, on the eve of the New Year’, Peskov said on Monday.
However, Peskov told the state-run media outlet TASS on Sunday, ahead of the summit, that President Vladimir Putin would ‘speak with everyone individually’, and also reiterated that the Kremlin expected Aliyev to attend.
In the same comments, Peskov hinted that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would also attend the summit, and that he was set to have talks with Aliyev.
Although no such reason was officially stated, there has been speculation that the cancellation is connected to lingering resentment in Baku over the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in December 2024, and worsened after Baku said that Russian police tortured two ethnic Azerbaijanis to death in Yekaterinburg in June 2025. Tensions quickly escalated in the following days, with Azerbaijan issuing a formal complaint to Russia, cancelling all Russia-related cultural events, and arresting a number of Russian journalists accused of espionage.
In October, Putin finally apologised to Aliyev during a face-to-face meeting in Dushanbe, prompting many to believe the spat had been put to rest.
Azerbaijani political analyst Elkhan Shahinoghlu told RFE/RL that Aliyev’s decision not to attend the CIS summit was connected to the crash and Putin’s alleged failure to follow through on the promises made during their meeting in Dushanbe. At the time, Putin pledged that Russia would pay compensation to the victims and bring those responsible for the crash to justice.
‘In such a situation the possibility of Aliyev attending the informal summit was low’, Shahinoghlu said.
Aytan Farhadova
