Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev confirmed that former senior German and Russian officials held secret talks in Baku from July 12 to 14, disclosing the previously undisclosed encounter during a joint press conference in Berlin on Tuesday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The German delegation included former Chancellery chief Ronald Pofalla and ex-Brandenburg premier Matthias Platzeck, while the Russian side fielded Kremlin council head Valery Fadeyev and former deputy prime minister Viktor Zubkov. The meeting reportedly took place without prior notification to Azerbaijani authorities. Aliyev said that if the talks could help end the war, Azerbaijan welcomes them.
Chancellor Merz distanced the German government from the meeting, saying it had no involvement and that he had no prior knowledge of it. The Times reported this was at least the fourth such encounter, with previous sessions held in Baku and Abu Dhabi.