Why Aliyev Will Not Attend the CIS Leaders Summit in Russia

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, will not participate in the informal summit of CIS leaders taking place today in Saint Petersburg. Aliyev's administration has explained this decision by citing a "busy work schedule." They also announced that the Azerbaijani president attended the CIS Heads of State Council meeting in Dushanbe in October, and that the meetings held during that summit were effective at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

Recently, the press secretary of the President of Russia announced that separate meetings between Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, are scheduled within the framework of the summit.