Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has canceled his visit to Moscow at the last moment. He was supposed to participate in the parade dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory. This was announced by the assistant to the President of Russia, Yuri Ushakov here.
Unfortunately, we received news that Aliyev will not come. It was explained that he needs to participate in domestic events dedicated to Heydar Aliyev, said Ushakov.
Laos's President Thongloun Sisoulith also declined to go to Moscow. It is said that he has contracted the coronavirus. The Foreign Minister of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith, will participate in the parade on behalf of Laos. More than 20 foreign countries' leaders will participate in the parade in Moscow.
Among them are the presidents of the Central Asian states, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, and others.
Ilham Aliyev last participated in the Victory Parade in Moscow ten years ago — in 2015. In March 2024, the press services of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia confirmed Aliyev's acceptance of the invitation to participate in the parade.
The acceptance of the invitation occurred against the background of a noticeable chill in bilateral relations between Moscow and Baku. This was because in December 2024, the Azerbaijani AZAL airline's passenger liner crashed, killing 38 people. Flying over Grozny, the plane was hit by Russia's air defense system, and then permission for emergency landing at Russian airports was denied. The plane eventually headed for Kazakhstan, where it crashed near Aktobe. Aliyev accused Russia of trying to conceal the incident and dismiss the attack as "nonsensical versions."
