"Considering Aliyev our partner was a misunderstanding" - Zatulin

Calling the Ukrainian conflict an invasion by Russia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has spoken out against Russia, State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin told Lenta.ru.

“As for recognizing the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Aliyev is not sinning against the truth. Azerbaijan has maintained this position since the return of Crimea, it just hasn’t voiced it as persistently as it does now,” the deputy said.

“From the very beginning, Baku adopted a position that was different from ours, and sometimes even hostile. Over time, we began to notice this, although it should have been noticed from the very beginning,” Zatulin explained.

According to him, until a certain point, Azerbaijan avoided understanding the advantages of cooperation with Russia, but now it is no longer so relevant. Aliyev no longer needs a mediator in the person of Moscow, now he has the support of the United States.

"The fact that Aliyev called the Ukrainian conflict an invasion is already a direct attack on Russia. It is good that we are at least drawing conclusions: we should not deceive ourselves about Azerbaijan and imagine it as our partner. This was a misunderstanding," the politician assured.

Earlier, Aliyev stated in an interview with "Al Arabia" that the republic had supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine from the first days of the conflict. He called what happened a "Russian invasion."