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In July 2025, a statement allegedly made by the President of Azerbaijan went viral on social networks. From his words it follows that Baku will not persecute citizens of the country participating in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but will arrest those who fought or are fighting for Russia. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
The quote began to spread across the Internet in mid-July. The statement completely attributed to Aliyev is as follows: “Azerbaijan will not arrest Azerbaijani citizens who fought or are fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but will arrest those who fought or are fighting on the side of Russia, thereby supporting the occupation of the territories of the sovereign Ukrainian state.” Similar posts appeared in Instagram, Facebook, X, "VKontakte» and on other platforms.
After the outbreak of a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, official Baku adheres to neutrality. Thus, in April 2022, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated about supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but added that his country has “good relations with Russia.”
By estimates The Azerbaijanis of Ukraine are happy; in 2022, about 500 ethnic Azerbaijanis - citizens of Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Russia - fought on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There is no reliable data on the significant participation of Azerbaijani citizens in the war on the side of the Russian Federation; official statistics on this matter have not been published. At the same time, journalists reported cases, when Azerbaijani citizens living in Russia were forced to participate in hostilities.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia worsened in December 2024, when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed while flying from Baku to Grozny. According to preliminary data, the airliner was hit by a Russian air defense system, but Moscow refused to admit responsibility for the crash. Relations between the two countries again worsened at the end of June, when security forces detained about 50 people in Yekaterinburg, mostly Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin. According to official data, the operation took place as part of an investigation into a murder that occurred back in 2001. As a result, two detainees - the Safarov brothers - died, and several more people were seriously injured. A forensic medical examination carried out in Azerbaijan revealed multiple injuries and internal hemorrhages on the Safarovs, which caused a wave of indignation in Baku. In response to the Azerbaijani authorities suspended all planned cultural events with the participation of Russia and Russian artists, including exhibitions, concerts and festivals, as well as announced on the cancellation of working meetings and visits of delegations within the framework of joint projects with Moscow.
Additional tension was caused by the events of June 30 and July 1, when Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies detained seven employees of the Russian state agency Sputnik. Charges were brought against some of them for money laundering, fraud and illegal entrepreneurship, and the executive director and chief editor of the Azerbaijani authorities were called FSB officers operating undercover. On those same days in Azerbaijan there were arrested eight more Russian citizens - mostly IT specialists who moved to the country after the start of mobilization in the Russian Federation in 2022. They were accused of cyber fraud and drug trafficking. At court hearings, many detainees showed signs of beatings.
The statement attributed to Aliyev about his intention to arrest Azerbaijani citizens fighting on the side of Russia appeared precisely against the backdrop of these events. However, neither on the official website, nor on the official pages of the President of Azerbaijan in Facebook, Instagram And X "Verified" could not find any similar statements. Other representatives of official Baku did not do them either.
This quote first appeared on July 1 on the social network X on the page of a user with the nickname "Baku Drill". Within a few days, the tweet received more than 100,000 views and 500 reposts. The post did not say that the author of this statement was Ilham Aliyev, and a few minutes after publication the user himself admitted, that he wrote the tweet “on his own behalf.”
Over the next few days, the quote gained popularity on Instagram, X Facebook, Telegram, but still without any attribution. Finally, on July 9 in the Telegram channel Repolit a post appeared where the President of Azerbaijan was named as the author of this statement. Apparently, the channel belongs to fans of the Israeli political scientist Mikhail Sheitelman, who speaks in support of Ukraine. In Telegram-channel Sheitelman himself did not appear in such posts.
Thus, the words about the arrest of Azerbaijani citizens for participating in the war in Ukraine on the side of Russia belong to the anonymous user X, and not to Ilham Aliyev. This quote was first attributed to the President of Azerbaijan by a pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel against the backdrop of worsening relations between Moscow and Baku.
Correction as of July 21, 2025: The text incorrectly named the source in which the quote was first attributed to Ilham Aliyev. The original version of the analysis can be found at link.
Cover photo: president.az
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