Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the signing of six agreements with Azerbaijan during his visit to the country, singling out security as a key area.
“We signed six documents today. Our teams will certainly share the details later. These cover various areas. Today, the top priority is security—specifically, the defense-industrial complex,” Zelenskyy said during a joint statement with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the city of Gabala on Saturday.
The Ukrainian president also announced agreements on joint production and the work of Ukrainian experts in Azerbaijan.
“We will certainly develop our cooperation and joint production. These are very important areas that will definitely enhance the security of our countries and our peoples, as well as trade, which we truly want to increase between our countries,” he said.
Zelenskyy announced a “very significant step” in the form of signing documents on the joint development of the countries’ defense-industrial complexes.
He also thanked Aliyev for 11 support packages in the energy sector and for assistance to children evacuated from border areas, and reported on agreements in the field of education, specifically regarding the training of Azerbaijani students in Ukraine.
Aliyev, in turn, noted that “quite serious cooperation” is currently underway between Ukraine and Azerbaijan and that it was “once again confirmed” during Zelenskyy’s visit.
“Regarding military-technical cooperation, we also discussed this issue. It has quite broad prospects in both Ukraine and Azerbaijan. We see the development of the defense industries, and we can look into joint production. But overall, we have excellent opportunities in manufacturing. And today we also had extensive talks on this,“ he said.
Also, according to the head of the Azerbaijani state, the presidents discussed the need to develop trade between the countries. ”It currently amounts to more than $500 million, and I think it will continue to grow. Because we have every opportunity,” he said.
In addition to political dialogues, the parties also discussed cooperation in the energy sector. “We have achieved certain milestones. SOCAR has been operating successfully in Ukraine for many years. And now there are very good prospects. We have joint projects, joint initiatives, and investments. All these issues were discussed in detail today,” Aliyev said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as well as the possibility of holding the next round of Ukrainian-American-Russian talks in Azerbaijan.
“We also discussed peace efforts. It is very important for Ukraine that Russia finds the strength to end this unjust war. Of course, we highly value the role of our partners in mediating this process,” Zelenskyy said during a joint statement with Aliyev in the city of Gabala (Azerbaijan) on Saturday.
He emphasized that Ukraine is ready for trilateral talks. “We had such talks in Turkey; we had such talks with our American partners in Switzerland. Undoubtedly, we are ready for the upcoming talks in Azerbaijan if Russia is ready for diplomacy,” Zelenskyy added.
As reported, on February 26, following a meeting between the Ukrainian negotiating team led by Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia and U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced an increased readiness to hold the next trilateral meeting, likely in early March in Abu Dhabi (UAE). The last round of talks took place in Geneva (Switzerland), and the previous ones in Abu Dhabi.
On March 2, Zelenskyy clarified that the trilateral Ukraine-U.S.-Russia meeting was tentatively scheduled for March 5–6 in Abu Dhabi; however, due to hostilities, the Ukrainian side cannot confirm that the meeting will take place there, though no one has canceled it.
On March 5, a source close to the negotiating delegation told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the next meeting as part of the trilateral Ukraine-U.S.-Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine has been postponed indefinitely for the time being.
According to a survey conducted in March 2026 by the research firm Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club information and analytical center, Ukrainians’ attitudes toward Azerbaijan show a noticeable decline in positive sentiment and an increase in the proportion of neutral assessments. Overall, 44.3% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward this country, whereas in August 2025 this figure stood at 56.7%. At the same time, the share of negative assessments rose slightly—from 5.7% to 6.5%—which indicates not a sharp deterioration in perception, but rather a shift in responses toward neutrality.
The breakdown of responses confirms this trend. The share of those who view Azerbaijan entirely positively stands at 14.2%, while another 30.1% selected the “mostly positive” option. At the same time, the largest category was the neutral position—47.1% of respondents. This means that for a significant portion of Ukrainians, Azerbaijan is not a country with a clearly defined emotional or political image.
Negative assessments remain relatively low, although they show some growth. The share of “mostly negative” attitudes stands at 4.9%, and “completely negative” at 1.6%. The share of those who were undecided is 2.1%, indicating a sufficient level of awareness among respondents regarding this country, but at the same time—a lack of clear reference points for evaluation.
The trend over the past six months points to a decline in the level of emotional certainty regarding Azerbaijan. The drop in positive assessments by more than 12 percentage points is accompanied by a sharp rise in neutral views. This may indicate a weakening of the country’s media presence in the Ukrainian media landscape or a decline in the relevance of bilateral issues in public discourse.
Compared to European Union countries or Ukraine’s strategic partners, Azerbaijan is perceived much less unequivocally. The high proportion of neutral assessments means that public opinion regarding this country is less stable and more sensitive to external factors—whether informational, political, or economic.
“If we look at these results, we see that attitudes toward Azerbaijan are not negative, but they are becoming less defined. The decline in positive assessments is not due to an increase in criticism, but rather to a shift of some respondents into the neutral zone. This means that the further shaping of the country’s image will largely depend on its activity in the Ukrainian information and economic spheres,” noted Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Thus, the survey results indicate a gradual weakening of Azerbaijan’s positive image in Ukraine, which is not accompanied by a sharp rise in negative sentiment but manifests itself in an increase in the share of neutral assessments. This creates both challenges and opportunities: on the one hand, the country is losing some of its positive perception, and on the other, it retains the potential to restore it through more active engagement with Ukrainian society.
According to a study conducted by the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center based on data from the State Customs Service, Azerbaijan ranks 36th in total trade volume of goods with Ukraine as of December 31, 2025, with a figure of $511.2 million. At the same time, imports from Azerbaijan slightly exceed Ukrainian exports, resulting in a moderate trade deficit of $44.7 million.
The study was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine press center; the video can be viewed on the agency’s YouTube channel. The full version of the study can be found at this link on the Experts Club analytical center’s website.
ACTIVE GROUP, AZERBAIJAN, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SURVEY, UKRAINE, URAKIN
Azerbaijan has suspended transport across the state border with Iran and closed its airspace at the border. Earlier, Azerbaijan accused Iran of launching drone strikes on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and said it reserved the right to take appropriate measures. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported that one drone hit the Nakhchivan airport terminal, while another fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad. Two civilians were injured in the attack, and the airport buildings were damaged.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry demanded that Tehran provide an explanation as soon as possible, conduct an investigation, and take measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring. The Iranian ambassador was summoned to the ministry to receive a note of protest.
Against the backdrop of the incident, regional media and expert commentators are discussing the possibility of invoking the mechanisms provided for in the Shusha Declaration on Alliance Relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The document stipulates that in the event of a threat or act of aggression by a third state, the parties shall hold joint consultations and provide each other with the necessary assistance in accordance with the UN Charter.
At the time of publication, there was no official announcement of the start of formal consultations on the Shusha Declaration, but Ankara and Baku maintain constant coordination on regional security issues, including at the level of the foreign ministries.
According to Serbian Economist, Azerbaijan has expressed its readiness to assist Montenegro in connecting to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), said Dino Tutundzic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Montenegro, in an interview with Report.az. According to him, Podgorica considers the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) to be a strategic regional project that should connect Montenegro to TAP and, through it, to the Southern Gas Corridor and Caspian supplies.
Tutundzic said that Montenegro plans to intensify negotiations with neighboring countries – Croatia and Albania – and focus on preparing the infrastructure base, after which it will be possible to talk about gas delivery to end consumers. He also noted Azerbaijan’s interest in participating in Montenegro’s energy projects, including in the renewable energy segment.
The issue of connecting Montenegro to TAP has its own specific features: the country still makes virtually no use of natural gas, as it has no gas market or gas distribution network. This is evident from the report of the Energy Community Secretariat, which explicitly states that “there is no gas market in Montenegro” and “there is no gas network.”
TAP is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, connecting supplies from the Caspian region to European markets via Greece, Albania, and the Adriatic Sea, with access to Italy.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2379
According to Serbian Economist, the energy partnership between Belgrade and Baku is rapidly moving beyond symbolic diversification and beginning to transform into a separate supply chain capable of significantly influencing the balance of the Serbian gas market. Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Energy Orkhan Zeynalov said that by the end of 2026 – early 2027, Azerbaijan could cover up to 20% of Serbia’s gas needs, which, according to him, directly strengthens energy security by reducing dependence on a single source.
The context is simple: Serbia has remained predominantly dependent on gas imports in recent years, and the issue of diversification has become part of a broader agenda, ranging from heating and electricity prices to negotiations with the EU on energy integration. Reuters previously estimated that Serbia receives about 80% of its gas from Russia, with alternative volumes currently serving as insurance and a bargaining chip.
The legal framework for the Azerbaijani route has already been established. The contract between SOCAR and Srbijagas, signed in November 2023, provides for the supply of up to 400 million cubic meters per year in 2024-2026, with the possibility of increasing volumes after 2027. At the same time, official statements by the governments of Serbia and Azerbaijan have recorded separate seasonal agreements for additional volumes during the winter period.
Actual deliveries from Azerbaijan began in 2024, but so far have remained small compared to the overall market. According to data cited by Azerbaijan’s State Statistics Committee, Serbia received about 72.6 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas between February and December 2024. For comparison, according to estimates by Azerbaijani and regional sources, in January-November 2025, supplies had already grown to 192 million cubic meters.
Why is Belgrade taking this more seriously than “just another contract”? Because gas is beginning to be linked to industrial projects. In mid-February 2026, the leaders of Serbia and Azerbaijan confirmed plans to build a 500 MW gas-fired power plant, which is seen as a joint project with an estimated commissioning date of 2029. Industry media estimate the investment at around €600 million. Such a plant is capable of creating stable demand for fuel and, accordingly, pushing forward discussions on long-term supply terms — which is why Baku’s statements separately mention the topic of gas prices for future generation.
The stated target of 15-20% seems realistic precisely as a “market share” rather than the maximum technical capacity of the route. Even with Serbia’s moderate consumption, this means the need to reach several hundred million cubic meters per year on a sustainable basis and to secure a commercial supply formula after 2026. At the same time, Baku is making it clear that it sees Serbia as a potential energy hub for the Western Balkans and is looking for additional areas of cooperation, including projects in the field of green energy and hydrogen.
