India is seeking to take "revenge" on Azerbaijan at international organisations due to Baku's support for Pakistan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
Aliyev made the remarks on Monday during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, where leaders had gathered to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, according to the Azerbaijani presidency.
Sharif thanked Aliyev on behalf of the Pakistani people and government for what he called Azerbaijan's solidarity during the April-May military confrontation with India, in which Pakistan shot down multiple Indian jets, including Rafales
He also underlined the importance of the trilateral Azerbaijan-Türkiye-Pakistan format, recalling his previous visits to Baku.
Aliyev congratulated Pakistan on what he described as its victory over India and stressed that, despite New Delhi's actions in international forums, Azerbaijan prioritises "brotherhood" in its ties with Islamabad.
He added that his country is taking steps to implement the outcomes of trilateral meetings and highlighted the role of United States President Donald Trump in advancing Azerbaijani-American relations, noting the importance of his recent visit to Washington.
Strategic alignment
The two leaders also discussed expanding trade and economic cooperation within the Azerbaijani-Pakistani intergovernmental commission.
Sharif congratulated Aliyev on progress in the peace process with Armenia, which the Azerbaijani leader said was vital for ensuring lasting stability in the South Caucasus.
Aliyev has repeatedly emphasised that Azerbaijan's partnership with Pakistan is rooted in close political, cultural and strategic ties.
In recent years, Islamabad and Baku have expanded cooperation in defence, trade and regional security.
India, meanwhile, has reportedly been accelerating arms sales to Armenia in what analysts view as part of a broader effort to counter the growing strategic alignment between Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, South China Morning Post reported.
Defence ties between New Delhi and Yerevan have been growing steadily since 2020.
Armenia-Pakistan ties
On the sidelines of the SCO summit on Sunday, Armenia and Pakistan made a formal announcement of establishing diplomatic relations.
Pakistan had not established diplomatic ties with Armenia due to the latter's occupation of Karabakh, a territory of Azerbaijan, with which it enjoys close ties.
Baku and Yerevan, however, are now edging closer to resolving their decades-long dispute.
Most of Karabakh was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which concluded with a Russian-brokered ceasefire that paved the way for talks on normalisation and border demarcation.
In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty over the region after separatist forces capitulated.
Following Türkiye’s efforts, Baku and Yerevan reached a consensus on a peace agreement in March. Earlier this month, the leaders of the two former Soviet states signed a US-brokered deal aimed at ending the conflict during a meeting with Trump.
