 | |
 Azerbaijan |  Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Azerbaijan, Kyiv | Embassy of Ukraine, Baku |
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador Seymur Mardaliyev | Ambassador Vladislav Kanevskiy |
After thedissolution of the Soviet Union,Azerbaijan andUkraine gained their independence from theSoviet Union and started a close friendship,[1] establishing diplomatic relations in 1992. The relations of strategic cooperation, political, economical and cultural relations between two countries are at a very high level.[2] Azerbaijan currently plays an important role in both organization and the foreign policy of Ukraine due to its strategic role in the region.[3]
Ukraine supports Azerbaijan's position in the resolution of theNagorno-Karabakh conflict againstArmenia.[4]
The two countries support each other in entering international organizations.[5]
Diplomatic relations were established in 1919 for the first time a year after, the Consul General of Ukraine in Tiflis Oleksiy Kulinsky was appointed Consul General in Baku.[6][7] The grave of UkrainianAtaman Golovati is still protected by Azerbaijanis; there is also a monument inLankaran dedicated toCossacks.[8]
TheUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and theAzerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic discussed the possibility of concluding a political agreement and exchanging diplomatic missions. On 8 December 1921, the USSR even granted official powers to conduct negotiations toYuriy Kotsiubynsky, but the initiative was stopped by theRussian Council of People's Commissars. On 30 December 1922, theTreaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was concluded, after which the Azerbaijani trade representation continued to function inKharkiv for a long time, and the trade and other business representatives of the USSR continued to operate in Baku.
Azerbaijan also helped Ukraine to shelter during theChernobyl disaster in 1986.
AfterBlack January events, some 10,000 people attended a rally inLviv to protest Moscow's military intervention in Azerbaijan.[9]
Azerbaijan recognized the independence of Ukraine on 6 February 1992, and on the same day diplomatic relations between the two countries were established. Azerbaijani presidentAbulfaz Elchibey paid an official visit toUkraine on 12 November 1992.[10] During that visit, he said that relations with Ukraine will become priority out of all of the former republics of the former Soviet Union.[11] On 5 May 1996, Ukraine opened the Embassy of Ukraine in Azerbaijan in Baku and Azerbaijan opened the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Ukraine on 12 March 1997 in Kyiv.
In 2001, the two countries founded theOrganization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), along withGeorgia andMoldova.
During theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War, Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, would not provide military assistance to either state.[12][13]
According to Minister of Foreign Affairs of AzerbaijanJeyhun Bayramov, the first humanitarian cargo of medicines and other medical items reached Ukraine on 27 February 2022, three days following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Up to June 2023, the volume of Azerbaijan’s humanitarian aid to Ukraine exceeds one thousand tons and 20 million US dollars.[14]
In June 2023,President of AzerbaijanIlham Aliyev andUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy met for the first time inMoldova since theRussian invasion of Ukraine the framework of the Summit of the European Political Community, where Zelensky thanked the Azerbaijani side for support for Ukraine in theUnited Nations.[15]
Relations between two countries are very friendly.[16] Azerbaijan has an embassy inKyiv. Ukraine has an embassy inBaku. Both countries are full members of theCouncil of Europe, theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),Eastern Partnership,Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) as well asGUAM.
| Guest | Host | Place of visit | Date of visit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 PresidentAbulfaz Elchibey |  PresidentLeonid Kravchuk | Kyiv | 12 November 1992 | |
| PresidentLeonid Kuchma | PresidentHeydar Aliyev | Baku | 26–28 July 1995 | |
| PresidentHeydar Aliyev | PresidentLeonid Kuchma | Kyiv | 24–25 March 1997 | During the meeting, Aliyev was awarded with theOrder of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.[17] |
| PresidentHeydar Aliyev | PresidentLeonid Kuchma | Kyiv | 1999 | Took part at the inauguration ceremony of Kuchma. |
| PresidentLeonid Kuchma | PresidentHeydar Aliyev | Baku | 16–17 March 2000 | As a result of the visit, Aliyev presented Kuchma with theIstiglal Order. |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentLeonid Kuchma | Kyiv | June 2004 | |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentLeonid Kuchma | Kyiv | 28 October 2004 | Took part in the60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Ukraine. |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentViktor Yushchenko | Kyiv | June 2005 | |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentViktor Yushchenko | Kyiv | May 2006 | |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentViktor Yushchenko | Kyiv | May 2008 | |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentViktor Yanukovych | Kyiv | October 2010 | |
| PresidentViktor Yanukovych | PresidentIlham Aliyev | Baku | 28–29 April 2011 | |
| PresidentViktor Yanukovych | PresidentIlham Aliyev | Baku | 12 December 2012 | |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentViktor Yanukovych | Kyiv | November 2013 | |
| PresidentPetro Poroshenko | PresidentIlham Aliyev | Baku | 13–14 July 2016 | [18] |
| PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy | PresidentIlham Aliyev | Baku | 17–18 December 2019 | During the visit, Zelenskyy had a one-on-one meeting with thePresident of AzerbaijanIlham Aliyev after which they hold negotiations in an expanded format. Following the expanded meeting, the sides signed bilateral documents such as Protocol of Intent betweenGanja andOdesa, an Agreement on trade, economic, scientific, technical, and cultural cooperation betweenGuba andTruskavets, Agreement on cooperation between theMinistry of Economy of Azerbaijan and the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine on the conditions of doing business. Ukrainian President also met with thePrime MinisterAli Asadov, took part in the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani Business Forum, visited the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center ofBaku Slavic University and met with representatives of Ukrainian community in Azerbaijan.[19][20][21][22] |
| PresidentIlham Aliyev | PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy | Kyiv | January 2022 | [23] |
In the post-Soviet space, Ukraine has been considered the second most important trade partner of Azerbaijan after the Russian Federation. Ukraine is one of the main import partners of Azerbaijan,[24] and Azerbaijan grants Ukraine exclusive conditions for oil supply.[1] Main goods imported from Ukraine to Azerbaijan remains as mainly metallurgy products, machine-building products, agro-industrial products, and chemical industry products. While main goods exported from Azerbaijan to Ukraine are generally Products of the fuel energy industry, chemical industry products, and agro-industrial products.
The trade turnover between the two countries reached $1.4 billion in 2010. According to the reports of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, the transactions between them amounted to $343.87 million during the first period of 2018, and $146.57 million was made by the Azerbaijan side as a result of its exports. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Ukraine in January 2019 exceeded $74 million, about half in each direction.[25] The volume of trade started to shift upward in 2005 and amounted to approximately $ 1.5 billion in 2011 (the highest point). During this period Azerbaijan gained $ 909 million, Ukraine retained $ 558 million by mutual trade partnership, respectively. Nevertheless, starting from 2012, the trade turnover between them, worsened and declined below the statistics of 2011. The situation only changed between 2016 and 2017 so that trade volume rose up to $800 million from $300. In 2018, the number of transactions between Azerbaijan andUkraine amounted to about $ 829 million that was around $ 18 million compared to 2017. In that year, Azerbaijan import imported approximately $469 million worth of products and while exported $358 million 738 thousand worth of products to Ukraine. So, the Azerbaijani side had current account surpluses while Ukraine had a current account deficit. Moreover, the direct investments from Ukraine to Azerbaijan amounted to more than $25 million, and from Azerbaijan to Ukraine was around $200 million. As a result of improvements in economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Ukraine, the first Trade House of Azerbaijan was opened in the capital of Ukraine, and similar projects are estimated to be implemented in the other regions of Ukraine. The Azerbaijan Trade House has been launched to deal with promote “Made in Azerbaijan” brand in the Ukrainian market, and also it is expected to promote the general exports of the products of Azerbaijan.[26][27]
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is considered one of the key players to increase transactions between Azerbaijan and Ukraine. So as a result of its investments in Ukraine, it has 9 petrol filling stations inOdesa and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine, and in capital Kyiv and has further plan to establish more petrol filling stations in various regions of the country.
Additionally, in 2009, SOCAR purchased the Naftonreyd oil base in that country which has the 25,250 m3 and an annual turnover of 200 thousand m3.[28]
| Year | Amount Thousands of USD |
|---|---|
| 2020[29] | 418 455,13 |
| 2021[30] | 470 024,16 |
| 2022[31] | 259 804,61 |
| Year | Amount Thousands of USD |
|---|---|
| 2020[29] | 353 045,37 |
| 2021[30] | 452 449,32 |
| 2022[31] | 357 974,81 |
Ukraine is, afterTurkey andIsrael, one of the main military partners of Azerbaijan. Azeri officers are trained in Ukrainian military academies, and various technical assistance is supplied by Ukraine.[32][citation needed] In 2006, Ukraine had sold 48 T-72AG to Azerbaijan. In 2009, Ukraine supplied to Azerbaijan, 29 BTR-70, 29 units of 122-millimeter self-propelled howitzers 2S1Pink and 6 units of 152-millimeter self-propelled howitzers 2S3Acacia a combat trainer MiG-29UB, 11 Mi-24.[33] In 2010, Ukraine sold to Azerbaijan a 71 BTR-70, 7 self-propelled artillery "Carnation" 2S1 122 mm, 1 Mi-24P, a managed anti-missile complex, and 3,000 rifles and pistols. Ukraine remains as one of the main military partners of Azerbaijan.
One month before the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan transferred three MiG-29 to a Ukrainian facility for repairs.[34][35]
Since 1998, Ukrainian has been taught inBaku Slavic University and the Ukrainian sector opened afterward. In 2001 in Kyiv, the Heydar Aliyev Social and Political Science Institutes was opened. Since 1978 a library namedSamed Vurgun is active in Ukraine. At the same year, a short documentary calledAzerbaijani days in Ukraine released and year afterFrom the eyes of the friends documentary was shot which was about the Ukrainian culture days in Azerbaijan.Monument of Taras Shevchenko was opened in Azerbaijan in 2008.[36]
In 2000 there were about 32,000 Ukrainians that lived in Azerbaijan, and over 45,000Azerbaijanis that lived in Ukraine.[37] Azerbaijan recognizes theHolodomor as a genocide.
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