Azerbaijan–Ukraine relations

Azerbaijani–Ukrainian relations

Azerbaijan	Ukraine
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Azerbaijan, Kyiv	Embassy of Ukraine, Baku
Envoy
Ambassador Seymur Mardaliyev	Ambassador Vladislav Kanevskiy

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan and Ukraine gained their independence from the Soviet Union and started a close friendship^[1] with 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 the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict against Armenia.^[4]

The two countries support each other in entering international organizations.^[5]

History

Relations with the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian State

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 Ukrainian Ataman Golovati still is protected by Azerbaijanis and there's also monument in Lankaran dedicated to Cossacks.^[8]

Soviet era

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic discussed the possibility of concluding a political agreement and exchanging diplomatic missions. On December 8, 1921, the USSR even granted official powers to conduct negotiations to Yuriy Kotsiubynsky, but the initiative was stopped by the Russian Council of People's Commissars. On December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was concluded, after which the Azerbaijani trade representation continued to function in Kharkiv 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 the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

After Black January events, some 10,000 people attended a rally in Lviv to protest Moscow's military intervention in Azerbaijan.^[9]

Post-1991

Azerbaijan recognized the independence of Ukraine on February 6, 1992, and on the same day diplomatic relations between the two countries were established. Azerbaijani president Abulfaz Elchibey paid an official visit to Ukraine on November 12, 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 May 5, 1996, Ukraine opened the Embassy of Ukraine in Azerbaijan in Baku and Azerbaijan opened the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Ukraine on March 12, 1997 in Kyiv.

In 2001, the two countries founded the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), along with Georgia and Moldova.

During the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, would not provide military assistance to either state,^[12][13]

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, the first humanitarian cargo of medicines and other medical items reached Ukraine on 27 February 2022, three days following the 2022 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 Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met for the first time in Moldova since the Russian invasion of Ukraine the framework of the Summit of the European Political Community, where Zelensky thanked the Azerbaijani side for support for Ukraine in the United Nations.^[15]

Political relations

Relations between two countries are very friendly.^[16] Azerbaijan has an embassy in Kyiv. Ukraine has an embassy in Baku. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Eastern Partnership, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) as well as GUAM.

High-level visits

Guest	Host	Place of visit	Date of visit	Notes
President Abulfaz Elchibey	President Leonid Kravchuk	Kyiv	November 12, 1992
President Leonid Kuchma	President Heydar Aliyev	Baku	July 26–28, 1995
President Heydar Aliyev	President Leonid Kuchma	Kyiv	March 24–25, 1997	During the meeting, Aliyev was awarded with the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.[17]
President Heydar Aliyev	President Leonid Kuchma	Kyiv	1999	Took part at the inauguration ceremony of Kuchma.
President Leonid Kuchma	President Heydar Aliyev	Baku	March 16–17, 2000	As a result of the visit, Aliyev presented Kuchma with the Istiglal Order.
President Ilham Aliyev	President Leonid Kuchma	Kyiv	June 2004
President Ilham Aliyev	President Leonid Kuchma	Kyiv	28 October 2004	Took part in the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Ukraine.
President Ilham Aliyev	President Viktor Yushchenko	Kyiv	June 2005
President Ilham Aliyev	President Viktor Yushchenko	Kyiv	May 2006
President Ilham Aliyev	President Viktor Yushchenko	Kyiv	May 2008
President Ilham Aliyev	President Viktor Yanukovych	Kyiv	October 2010
President Viktor Yanukovych	President Ilham Aliyev	Baku	April 28-29, 2011
President Viktor Yanukovych	President Ilham Aliyev	Baku	December 12, 2012
President Ilham Aliyev	President Viktor Yanukovych	Kyiv	November 2013
President Petro Poroshenko	President Ilham Aliyev	Baku	13–14 July 2016	[18]
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy	President Ilham Aliyev	Baku	December 17–18, 2019	During the visit, Zelenskyy had a one-on-one meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev after which they hold negotiations in an expanded format. Following the expanded meeting, the sides signed bilateral documents such as Protocol of Intent between Ganja and Odesa, an Agreement on trade, economic, scientific, technical, and cultural cooperation between Guba and Truskavets, Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan and the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine on the conditions of doing business. Ukrainian President also met with the Prime Minister Ali Asadov, took part in the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani Business Forum, visited the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center of Baku Slavic University and met with representatives of Ukrainian community in Azerbaijan.[19][20][21][22]
President Ilham Aliyev	President Volodymyr Zelenskyy	Kyiv	January 2022	[23]

Economic relations

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 and Ukraine 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 in Odesa 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]

Imports and exports

Imports of Azerbaijan

Year	Amount Thousands of USD
2020[29]	418 455,13
2021[30]	470 024,16
2022[31]	259 804,61

Exports of Azerbaijan

Year	Amount Thousands of USD
2020[29]	353 045,37
2021[30]	452 449,32
2022[31]	357 974,81

Military cooperation

Ukraine is, after Turkey and Israel, 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 2S1 Pink and 6 units of 152-millimeter self-propelled howitzers 2S3 Acacia 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 the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan transferred three MiG-29 to a Ukrainian facility for repairs.^{[34] [35]}

Cultural relations

Since 1998, Ukrainian has been taught in Baku 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 named Samed Vurgun is active in Ukraine. At the same year, a short documentary called Azerbaijani days in Ukraine released and year after From 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 45,000 Azerbaijanis that lived in Ukraine.^[37] Azerbaijan recognizes the Holodomor as a genocide.

Resident diplomatic missions

• Azerbaijan has an embassy in Kyiv.
• Ukraine has an embassy in Baku.

• 
  Embassy of Azerbaijan in Kyiv
• 
  Embassy of Ukraine in Baku

See also

• Azerbaijanis in Ukraine
• Foreign relations of Azerbaijan
• Foreign relations of Ukraine

References

External links

• Embassy of Azerbaijan in Ukraine Official website
• Embassy of Ukraine in Azerbaijan Official website
• Bilateral relations