Bloomberg: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said former senior German and Russian officials met in the capital Baku this month for talks on how to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, confirming media reports.

“Our territory was used for such a meeting without our knowledge,” Aliyev told reporters in Berlin Tuesday during a joint press conference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “I cannot comment on the details, as we were not present at the meeting. However, the flight data allows me to state that a secret meeting did take place in Baku.”

According to media reports, an unofficial German delegation — including former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s erstwhile chief of staff, Ronald Pofalla, and Matthias Platzeck, former state leader of Brandenburg — held a meeting in the Azerbaijani capital with several of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s associates.

“If this meeting was intended to contribute to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, we can only welcome that,” Aliyev said. He added that the meeting took place July 12-14.

The German chancellor made clear that his government wasn’t involved.

“I’m not aware of any such meeting,” Merz responded to a reporter’s question.