Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev revealed during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin that a secret meeting between Germany and Russia took place in Baku. Aliyev's statement put the German side in a difficult position.
When asked about it at the press conference, Merz said, "I am not aware of any secret Germany-Russia meeting." However, the Azerbaijani leader, who took the floor immediately after, revealed that the situation was different.
Aliyev stated that Russian officials arrived in Baku on the same dates as German officials, which was confirmed by flight records. The Azerbaijani president said there were records indicating a secret meeting between the two countries in Baku and that they had not been given any information about it.
Aliyev openly criticized the situation, saying, "Azerbaijan's territory was used without its knowledge." At the beginning of the meeting, Merz had stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not coming to the table, and therefore Germany continued its support for Ukraine.