Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Azerbaijan today despite Ukraine's invasion of the southern Russian Kursk region, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The two-day visit is expected to include talks with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev about the strategic partnership between the countries.
Ahead of the trip, the Kremlin said the two leaders planned to sign several agreements to expand cooperation.
Aliev, like Putin, is an authoritarian leader who has been criticized for serious human rights violations, DPA points out. He last visited Moscow in April.
Putin is expected to comment on peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the long-running conflict over the mountainous Karabakh region, which Baku seized in 2023.
Russia has traditionally been considered close to Armenia, but it refuses to intervene on Yerevan's side.
Azerbaijan, an oil-rich republic on the Caspian Sea, is an important supplier of energy to the European Union.