BEIJING — September 3, 2025.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev merely greeted each other and shook hands during commemorations in China marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding there was “no substantive conversation this time.”
The brief encounter came amid a packed Beijing program for foreign leaders, including a large military parade and bilateral sessions for Putin with China’s Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Earlier this week, Peskov had said a Putin–Aliyev meeting on the summit sidelines was possible, but no sit-down materialized.
Note: The handshake was captured by regional outlets; the Kremlin has not announced any separate Russia–Azerbaijan meeting in Beijing.
