At a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan on July 16, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev sharply criticized the work of the country's Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov. The work of the foreign ministry does not act according to the current requirements.

According to Aliyev, he was unable to reach Mammadyarov in his office during the recent Azerbaijani-Armenian border clashes (Caucasus Watch reported). It later turned out that Mammadyarov worked from home. In his speech, Aliyev emphasized that, unlike Mammadyarov, he had continuously been in contact with his foreign policy adviser, Hikmat Hajiyev, during the heightened tensions of the past days. Against this background, the Azerbaijani media speculates that Hajiyev is the likely successor to the office of Foreign Minister.

It should be noted that on July 6, Azerbaijan's State Security Service initiated criminal proceedings against three senior officials from the State Department. Several senior ministry officials were arrested on the suspicion of corruption. This development had been interpreted by the experts as a sign of an early end to the career of the incumbent Foreign Minister.

Hikmat Hajiyev is a former press spokesman for the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In November 2019, he was appointed Assistant to the President for Foreign Affairs.