Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov held a round of talks with Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv, with the two sides discussing energy cooperation, trade and the war with Russia, Report said, citing the Azerbaijani foreign ministry.

Baku is positioning itself as a supplier of gas to Europe and, potentially, to Ukraine. Bayramov said Azerbaijan supplies gas to 12 European countries, 10 of them EU members, and would be ready to supply Ukraine "if necessary". He added Baku was also looking at using Ukraine's underground gas storage facilities to strengthen regional energy security, and said state oil company SOCAR remained active in the Ukrainian market with plans to expand energy cooperation further.

Sybiha said Ukraine wanted to diversify its energy supplies and had prepared a package of proposals for Azerbaijan, describing Baku as a strategic partner not only for Ukraine but for European energy security as a whole. He said Kyiv wanted bilateral trade back to pre-war levels, with turnover currently at around $600mn, down from $922.4mn in 2021.

The ministers also discussed the Middle Corridor and deeper transport links between Ukraine and the South Caucasus and Central Asia, which Sybiha linked to Ukraine's trade relationship with the EU.

On the war, Bayramov reiterated Azerbaijan's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, and called for a swift end to hostilities through diplomatic means in line with international law. Sybiha offered condolences over the deaths of Azerbaijani citizens in drone attacks on vessels in the Black and Azov seas, and thanked Baku for its assistance since the start of the war, including reconstruction of civilian infrastructure in Irpin, humanitarian aid and support for Ukraine's energy facilities.

Sybiha said Ukraine had briefed Azerbaijan on its peace initiatives and praised Baku's role in promoting peace and regional stability, and thanked President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people directly for their support.

Bayramov was received separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who thanked Azerbaijan for its humanitarian support and noted his own visit to Baku in April had lifted bilateral ties to a qualitatively new stage. Both sides said the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations would be marked next year.

Bayramov also met the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, Ihor Klymenko, and the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, with talks covering political, economic, energy, transport and humanitarian cooperation, as well as the shifting regional and international security environment.

During the visit, Bayramov toured an exhibition of Ukrainian-made drones and laid a wreath at Ukraine's Memorial to Fallen Defenders in the grounds of the foreign ministry. He also travelled to Irpin, where Azerbaijan has funded the reconstruction of a school and a lyceum named after Azerbaijani ophthalmologist Zarifa Aliyeva, and visited the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv. Azerbaijan's humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war exceeds $50mn, according to the two ministries.