Much more telling is the position of his hands. Along with his head it sure looks like a bow to me.
Exactly - his head is bowed and hands are in the “fig leaf” position that I have seen at dozens of wreath-layings. Normally that stance is used for paying respect to the war dead, so the State Department could have said he was just showing respect for the dead and was not meant as a political affirmation of Aliyev’s policies, but instead they went the ham-handed route and are trying to deny the undeniable. Sheer incompetence - same as why Morningstar allowed himself to be placed in that position in the first place - somebody told him to. We need adults at State again.