Azerbaijan–Ukraine relations
Encyclopedia
Azerbaijan
and Ukraine
were part of Scythia
, Roman Empire
, Khazar Kingdom
, Mongol Empire
, Ottoman Empire
, Russian Empire
and Soviet Union
. After the Dissolution of Soviet Union both countries have got their independence and started a close friendship with establishing diplomatic relations in 1992. The relations of strategic cooperation, political, economical and cultural relations between two countries are at very high level. In 2001, two countries founded the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM)
, along with Georgia
and Moldova
. Azerbaijan currently plays an important role in both organization and the foreign policy of Ukraine due to its strategic role in the region. Azerbaijan also helped Ukraine in to shelter Chernobyl sarcophagus.
Ukraine is, after Turkey
, one of the main military partners of Azerbaijan. Azeri officers are trained in Ukrainian military academies, and various technical assistance is supplied by Ukraine. Ukraine supports Azerbaijan's position in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict against to Armenia
. After Black January
events, some 10,000 people attended a rally in Lviv
to protest Moscow's military intervention in Azerbaijan. There are about 32.000 Ukrainians live in Azerbaijan, and over 45,000 Azerbaijanis are living in Ukraine. The grave of Ukrainian Ataman
Golovati still is protected by Azerbaijanis and there's also monument in Lankaran
dedicated to Cossacks. The two countries support each other in entering international organizations. Diplomatic relations established in 1919 for the first time and Azerbaijan recognizes Holodomor
events as a genocide.
. Ukraine has an embassy in Baku
. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe
, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
, Eastern Partnership
, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
as well as GUAM
.
President of Ukraine
Leonid Kuchma
paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on July 26-28, 1995. Together with Heydar Aliyev and Aliyev paid his official visit to Ukraine on March 24-25, 1997. During the meeting Heydar Aliyev was awarded with the highest order of Ukraine Yaroslav Mudry. After the establishment of GUAM
strategic relations started to develop rapidly. Heydar Aliyev visited Ukraine in 1999 in order to take part at the inauguration ceremony of the re-elected Leonid Kuchma. The Ukrainian President paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on March 16-17, 2000. As a result of the visit, Aliyev presented Leonid Kuchma the order of Istiglal. Strategic alliance between two countries are developing.
and Ukrainian sector opened afterwards. In 2001 Kiev
Social and Political Science institute named after Heydar Aliyev was opened. Since 1978 a library named Samed Vurgun
is active in Ukraine. At the same year, a short documentary called Azerbaijani days in Ukraine released and year after From the eyes of the friends documentary was shot which was about the Ukrainian culture days in Azerbaijan. Monument of Taras Shevchenko
was opened in Azerbaijan in 2008.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
were part of Scythia
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
, Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Khazar Kingdom
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. After the Dissolution of Soviet Union both countries have got their independence and started a close friendship with establishing diplomatic relations in 1992. The relations of strategic cooperation, political, economical and cultural relations between two countries are at very high level. In 2001, two countries founded the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM)
GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development
The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four post-Soviet states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova....
, along with Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
. Azerbaijan currently plays an important role in both organization and the foreign policy of Ukraine due to its strategic role in the region. Azerbaijan also helped Ukraine in to shelter Chernobyl sarcophagus.
Ukraine is, after Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, one of the main military partners of Azerbaijan. Azeri officers are trained in Ukrainian military academies, and various technical assistance is supplied by Ukraine. Ukraine supports Azerbaijan's position in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
conflict against to Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. After Black January
Black January
Black January , also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown of the Azerbaijani independence movement in Baku on January 19–20, 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union....
events, some 10,000 people attended a rally in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
to protest Moscow's military intervention in Azerbaijan. There are about 32.000 Ukrainians live in Azerbaijan, and over 45,000 Azerbaijanis are living in Ukraine. The grave of Ukrainian Ataman
Ataman
Ataman was a commander title of the Ukrainian People's Army, Cossack, and haidamak leaders, who were in essence the Cossacks...
Golovati still is protected by Azerbaijanis and there's also monument in Lankaran
Lankaran
-History:The city was built on a swamp along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Lankaran's history is rather recent,...
dedicated to Cossacks. The two countries support each other in entering international organizations. Diplomatic relations established in 1919 for the first time and Azerbaijan recognizes Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
events as a genocide.
Political relations
Relations between two countries are very friendly. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992. Azerbaijan has an embassy in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Ukraine has an embassy in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
, Eastern Partnership
Eastern Partnership
The Eastern Partnership is a project which was initiated by the European Union . It was presented by the foreign minister of Poland with assistance from Sweden at a the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008...
, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
On 25 June 1992, the Heads of State and Government of eleven countries signed in Istanbul the Summit Declaration and the Bosporus Statement giving birth to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation ...
as well as GUAM
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
.
President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk...
paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on July 26-28, 1995. Together with Heydar Aliyev and Aliyev paid his official visit to Ukraine on March 24-25, 1997. During the meeting Heydar Aliyev was awarded with the highest order of Ukraine Yaroslav Mudry. After the establishment of GUAM
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
strategic relations started to develop rapidly. Heydar Aliyev visited Ukraine in 1999 in order to take part at the inauguration ceremony of the re-elected Leonid Kuchma. The Ukrainian President paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on March 16-17, 2000. As a result of the visit, Aliyev presented Leonid Kuchma the order of Istiglal. Strategic alliance between two countries are developing.
Economic relations
In January – May 2008 trade turnover between the two countries was 191,1 mln. USD. The trade turnover between two countries reached to 1 billion 400 million dollars in 2010. Ukraine is one of the main import partners of Azerbaijan. Main goods imported from the Ukraine to Azerbaijan remains as mainly metallurgy products, machine building products, agro-industrial products, and chemical industry products. While main goods exported from Azerbaijan to the Ukraine are generally Products of fuel energy industry, chemical industry products, and agro-industrial products.Military cooperation
In 2006, Ukraine had sold 48 T-72AG to Azerbaijan. In 2009, Ukraine supplied to Azerbaijan, 29 BTR-70, 29 units of 122-millimeter self-propelled howitzers 2C1 Pink and 6 units of 152-millimeter self-propelled howitzers 2S3 Acacia a combat trainer MiG-29UB, 11 Mi-24 . In 2010, Ukraine has been sold to Azerbaijan a 71 BTR-70, 7 self-propelled artillery "Carnation" 2S1 122 mm, 1 Mi-24P, a managed anti-missile complex, and 3,000 rifles and pistols. Ukraine remains as one of the main military partners of Azerbaijan.Cultural relations
Since 1998, Ukrainian language are taught in Baku Slavic UniversityBaku Slavic University
Baku Slavic University , sometimes referred to as Baku Slav University, is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan.BSU's history is tied to Azerbaijan's at tenuous times in history with Russia...
and Ukrainian sector opened afterwards. In 2001 Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
Social and Political Science institute named after Heydar Aliyev was opened. Since 1978 a library named Samed Vurgun
Samed Vurgun
Samad Vurgun was a prominent Azerbaijani and Soviet poet, honoured worker of arts of Azerbaijan SSR and a member of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan SSR from 1945. Vurgun was awarded the USSR State Prize for his dramas: in 1941 for Vagif and in 1942 for Farhad and Shirin .Vurgun began...
is active in Ukraine. At the same year, a short documentary called Azerbaijani days in Ukraine released and year after From the eyes of the friends documentary was shot which was about the Ukrainian culture days in Azerbaijan. Monument of Taras Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven...
was opened in Azerbaijan in 2008.
See also
- Azerbaijanis in Ukraine
- Foreign relations of AzerbaijanForeign relations of AzerbaijanAzerbaijan is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO's Partnership for Peace, Euro-Atlantic Partnership; World Health Organization, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Council of Europe, CFE Treaty, the Community of...
- Foreign relations of UkraineForeign relations of Ukraine-Western relations:Ukraine considers Euro-Atlantic integration its primary foreign policy objective, but in practice balances its relationship with Europe and the United States with strong ties to Russia. The European Union's Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine went into force on...