ISTANBUL

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on Monday received UK Minister of State for Europe, North America, and Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty in Baku, where the two discussed normalization with Armenia, regional connectivity, and bilateral ties.

Doughty congratulated Aliyev on the “historic results” achieved in Washington, DC, toward peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia and reaffirmed London’s readiness to support the process, said a statement issued by the Azerbaijan presidency.

He also underlined the significance of agreements on regional transport links and praised Baku’s successful hosting of the COP29 climate summit.

President Aliyev thanked the UK for its support and said Baku remains committed to advancing peace efforts with Yerevan. He also recalled his meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during COP29, highlighting strong political dialogue between the countries.

The talks also covered broader cooperation prospects between Azerbaijan and the UK, particularly in the economy, trade, education, and information technologies. Both sides emphasized satisfaction with the current state of political relations.

During the talks, Aliyev and Doughty focused on energy cooperation, praising more than three decades of joint projects with BP, which include traditional oil and gas initiatives as well as growing collaboration in renewable energy.