The main event of the visit was Viktor Yushchenko’s meeting with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. The Presidents discussed the current security situation in the region and the world, as well as ways to further deepen the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani strategic partnership and advance concrete trade, economic and humanitarian initiatives.
During his visit to Baku, the Third President of Ukraine paid tribute to the memory of Ukrainian pilot and Hero of Azerbaijan Viktor Seryogin, who was killed in 1992 during the First Karabakh War, as well as to the victims of the “Black January” tragedy of 1990 at the Alley of Martyrs. He also had an opportunity to visit the “Surakhani” Museum-Tanker and explore the Ukrainian audio and video guide created as part of the initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
At the Ukrainian Center in Baku, Viktor Yushchenko, together with Alibala Maharramzade, Head of the Azerbaijan-Ukraine Friendship Group, other members of the Milli Majlis, and ambassadors and diplomats of Ukraine’s partner countries, attended the opening of the unique photo exhibition “A View of the War Through the Lens”, organized jointly with the Union of Photographers of Azerbaijan.
In 2022, members of the Union of Photographers of Azerbaijan, Famil Mahmudbeyli and Aziz Kerimov, travelled to Ukraine at great personal risk, documenting the consequences of Russia’s full-scale aggression and the lives of Ukrainians amid the war.
Viktor Yushchenko also met with representatives of the Azerbaijani media and gave interviews to local media outlets, addressing the international agenda, regional security and support for Ukraine, as well as strategic cooperation with Azerbaijan and prospects for further partnership.
“Ukraine highly values the support and assistance of the leadership and people of Azerbaijan and is interested in further strengthening the friendship and partnership between our countries. We were sincerely pleased to welcome Viktor Yushchenko to Baku and are grateful for his visit and his attention to further deepening Ukrainian-Azerbaijani relations,” said Ambassador of Ukraine Yuriy Husyev.