,  By  T-VINE

King Charles meets Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at European summit

Azerbaijan’s leader, Ilham Aliyev, had the opportunity to meet with King Charles III earlier this week. The two men were pictured talking on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit that took place at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

The British Embassy in Baku posted a picture of their exchange on X (formerly Twitter) with a warm message in Azerbaijani, which translates: “A royal welcome for the Azerbaijani President at the European Political Community leaders’ summit. Old friends are the best friends”.

Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, was also visible in the photo.

The Blenheim Palace event is the fourth meeting of the European Political Community, which brings together leaders from across the continent to discuss matters of common interest.

This session had leaders from 24 EU states and 19 non-EU states, among them Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also present was Kosovo, which the organisers said was in line with UN Resolution 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence, which advised was not in violation of international law.

The leaders at the summit reaffirmed their continued support for Ukraine and discussed the topics of energy and connectivity, security and democracy, and migration.

UK-Azerbaijan relations

The UK and Azerbaijan enjoy strong and positive relations. As soon as Azerbaijan secured its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the UK was among the first countries to recognise it.

The UK also played a crucial diplomatic role in securing UN Resolution 853 in 1993, demanding the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

In turn, Azerbaijan has been a leading provider of petrol to Britain since the turn of the 20th Century and for the past three decades, BP has been one of the main operators of oil and gas in Azerbaijani’s offshore oil fields in the Caspian Sea.

More recently, the UK has been supporting Azerbaijan in its endeavours to prepare for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 29, in November. The UK hosted COP in Glasgow in 2021.

In May of this year, King Charles had sent President Aliyev a message congratulating Azerbaijan on its Independence Day. The British monarch wrote: “I value the bond between our nations and hope that our countries can continue to work closely together on important global issues, whether they be peace and prosperity, or environment and climate change, which will benefit our future generations for years to come.”

Although Charles has never visited Azerbaijan in an official capacity, he and Ilham Aliyev have met at international functions before, including at the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign in Turkiye. Prince Charles was pictured standing between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkiye at the commemoration service at Çanakkale on 24 April 2015.

In 1998, Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth II hosted President Aliyev’s father, President Heydar Aliyev when he visited the UK on a state visit.