Russia has reportedly helped India block Azerbaijan’s bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), diplomatic sources told the Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet APA.
The SCO summit in Tianjin, China, wrapped up earlier in September, saw the participation of its ten members as well as other dialogue partners, such as Armenia and Azerbaijan. Following the summit, there were reports that India had blocked Azerbaijan from joining, and simultaneously, that Pakistan had blocked Armenia’s membership bid, despite the two countries finally establishing diplomatic relations.
An unnamed diplomatic source told APA that the decision to block Azerbaijan’s membership bid was discussed during negotiations between India and Russia, during which it was decided that India would ‘take the lead in the process while [Russia] remained in the background’.
The source also said that ‘Russia’s actions should be seen as a sign of disrespect toward China’, as Beijing has supported Azerbaijan’s membership in the SCO.
As reports emerged earlier in the week that India had blocked the bid, Azerbaijani media escalated their criticism of India, with Caliber publishing a rebuke of New Delhi on Monday under the title ‘Bollywood grudge: Revenge instead of a future strategy’.
The claims that Russia played a role in the process came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials expressed hope that the current rocky relations between Baku and Moscow could be mended.
The spat over SCO membership comes at a low point in Azerbaijan’s ties to Russia, fueled by the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight in December 2024, which Baku has blamed on Russian air defence, as well as the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis during a Russian police raid in Yekaterinburg in June 2025.
Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning
