An international forum themed "Facing a New World Order" was held at ADA University on April 9 to discuss global development and changes, to strengthen international cooperation, and discuss Azerbaijan's role in the new world order.
In his speech at the forum, President Ilham Aliyev touched upon many important issues and delivered key messages.
Azerbaijan and Armenia relations
President Aliyev emphasized that in the case of singing of a peace agreement, Azerbaijan is ready for cooperation with Armenia and the gradual building of trust, but this process should be gradual:
"When an agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is signed, then, of course, there will be no obstacle to the beginning of cooperation. I believe we should not lose time because, once again, with respect to the peace agreement, the ball is in Armenia’s court. On many occasions, I have already made it public what we expect from Armenia regarding our territorial integrity and their constitution. So it is known as soon as it is done and the peace agreement is signed, so there'll be no obstacle for the South Caucasus to try to be an integrated region. I think it can be a win-win situation for three countries of the South Caucasus. And being realistic, of course, we cannot imagine that we will become friends with Armenia immediately. It is not realistic, and even talking about any kind of economic integration is premature. But we are ready to start taking small steps toward confidence-building measures. And there have been certain initiatives recently generated by our Georgian friends, and we responded positively. So, we'll be waiting for the position of the Armenian side. And if that happens, small steps can begin—such as exchanges of visits between journalists and intellectuals, or perhaps joint sessions on transboundary rivers, as this is a serious concern for Azerbaijan. Armenia is polluting the Araz River, and, by the way, the Kura River also needs to be more properly addressed along its route to Azerbaijan. So, all that can have a practical impact. With these small steps, we can try to reduce mistrust. To build trust it will take years, but at least to reduce it, so we are ready for that."
In his statement to APA the Senior Advisor of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), political scientist Matin Mammadli said that the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia will create the basis for the gradual normalization of relations, rather than an immediate one, and areas of cooperation will emerge for the formation of trust.
"The normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a complex process that requires time. Even if a peace treaty is signed between the two countries, it does not mean that relations will immediately normalize. This is because there are deep problems between the two countries that have existed for centuries, and these problems are not only political but also psychological in nature. It is not realistic to completely resolve these problems and fully normalize relations in a short period of time. Nevertheless, the signing of a peace treaty will be a significant starting point. It will create the basis for the gradual normalization of mutual relations. President Ilham Aliyev also mentioned in his speech at the international forum that initial steps can be taken towards the normalization of relations. There are certain topics and issues that are regarded as common problems in both Azerbaijan and Armenia. There are opportunities for cooperation in these areas, and by starting with these fields, an atmosphere of trust can be established between the parties. This could, over time, contribute to the broader normalization of relations."
Azerbaijan as a mediator between Türkiye and Israel
President Ilham Aliyev stated that, considering Azerbaijan's friendly relations with both Türkiye and Israel, the country is striving to contribute to the normalization process by quietly and actively mediating to eliminate the tension between the two countries:
"Both countries are close friends of Azerbaijan. With Türkiye, we are allies. Israel is a friendly country to Azerbaijan, and for many years, mutual friendship have been demonstrated in difficult times for both of us. Therefore, of course, these tensions between the two countries are very disturbing for us, and a matter of concern. As it is already known, though we never made it public ourselves, but already it circulates quite broadly. The first successful reconciliation between Türkiye and Israel was to a certain degree facilitated by Azerbaijan. Because what now happens between the two countries is not the first crisis. It is the second in the foreseeable past. So, during the first crisis, we played an active role in order to try to bring countries closer, and it was not only Azerbaijan. Again, during the first round of normalization, we were absolutely silent. We worked behind the scenes. So, you can imagine that we are doing the same now, and we hope that the process will lead to normalization. It is always bad when your friends have bad relations. It is bad for them. It is bad for us and bad for the world. Because I think despite legitimate concerns and despite quite a high level of mistrust, still, there can be found the grounds for normalization, and the areas of mutual interest. The process to my mind should not stop. Azerbaijan is doing everything in its power to facilitate the process."
Matin Mammadli, speaking about Azerbaijan's peacekeeping mission, noted that Azerbaijan always strives to ensure that relations between friendly, allied, and partner countries are not disrupted, that no serious problems arise in relations, and if they do, to find a solution through negotiations.
"Türkiye is Azerbaijan's strategic ally, while Israel is a partner and friendly state. There are high-level political, economic, military, and security relations between Azerbaijan and both countries. However, from time to time, certain problems and tensions arise between Türkiye and Israel. In such cases, Azerbaijan always strives to ensure that the relations between these two states, both its ally and partner, do not escalate further and turn into a crisis. Historically, Azerbaijan has engaged in diplomatic efforts in this regard and has tried to prevent Türkiye-Israel relations from entering a deep crisis phase as much as possible. President Ilham Aliyev also touched upon this issue, stating that Azerbaijan plays a stabilizing role not only within the region but also in a broader geography, particularly in the Middle East. Azerbaijan's foreign policy serves peace, cooperation, and development. This approach is one of the main priorities of the country's foreign policy, and special attention is given to this principle, especially in relations with friendly and allied states," he emphasized.
The ingratitude of the Biden-Blinken administration
In his speech, the President of Azerbaijan stated that relations with the United States were more constructive during the Republican administration, but during the Biden-Blinken team era, the relations experienced a deep crisis, and this is related to Washington's anti-Azerbaijan policy: "...during the Biden-Blinken administration, relations between the United States and Azerbaijan can be characterized as being in crisis. And the reason for that was not us. We have always wanted to have good relations with the United States, which is a strongest country in the world, but it was because of anti-Azerbaijani policy of the State Department run by Mr. Blinken and many anti-Azerbaijani people in the administration of President Biden. So, I can name various facts, which created frustration in Azerbaijan. I think only one is enough: how sanctions were re-imposed on Azerbaijan. When Azerbaijan was needed to the United States, the so-called section 907 to the Freedom Support Act, which was discriminatory to Azerbaijan, was waived, and every president of the United States was issuing a waiver every year. But as soon as the Biden-Blinken administration ran away from Afghanistan – and all of us saw how they did it – they re-imposed this amendment against us again. So being so unthankful is very harmful for the administration itself, because who will trust them after that? And our level of trust to Biden-Blinken team was close to zero. Our relations were in deep crisis. As soon as the Biden-Blinken team left office, all these insinuations against Azerbaijan immediately stopped. Their media, which was very aggressive toward us—those that President Trump calls "fake news," like The Washington Post, The New York Times, Politico, etc.— immediately stopped publishing all the ugly articles about Azerbaijan. We knew that the source of these articles was the State Department. We have experience in working with Trump's administration during his first term, which was also very positive. We didn't have any crisis in our relations. Yes, our relations were not as active as we would have wanted to be, but that was the first term. Now, when President Trump and his team have seen European Union's hypocrisy against him, how European leaders were behind the plot against him supporting Madame Harris, so he felt it on his own skin. His second term, definitely, that's my assessment, will be much more active and much more concentrated on Americans’ national interests than the first one."
Matin Mammadli emphasized that Azerbaijan hopes that relations with the United States will improve and there will be a more balanced approach after Trump's re-election as president following the biased policies of the Biden administration.
"In recent years, serious problems have arisen in the relations between Azerbaijan and the United States. The main source of these problems has been the Biden administration. The US government's Armenia-centered policy in the region, as well as its biased and unfair stance towards Azerbaijan, has played a significant role in the deterioration of relations. The Biden administration has taken a one-sided approach to the post-conflict processes, and showed indifference or outright negative attitudes towards Azerbaijan's fair position in the international arena. Additionally, various media platforms and international organizations have conducted systematic smear campaigns against our country, and unfortunately, the US administration has been directly or indirectly involved in these campaigns. All these factors have, of course, created a serious crisis in Azerbaijan-US relations.
However, political change has now taken place in the United States, and a new administration—the team led by Donald Trump—has come to power in the White House. Azerbaijan places great hopes on the Trump administration. It is expected that in this new phase, the US will adopt a more fair stance, implement a balanced policy in the region, and develop relations with Azerbaijan on an objective basis. Azerbaijan shapes these expectations based on the experience during Trump's first presidency. During that period, no serious problems arose between the two countries; on the contrary, relations developed in various fields. President Ilham Aliyev and other officials repeatedly expressing their views on this matter, have stated that they expect a more constructive approach from the new administration."
On the possibility of peace between Russia and Ukraine
The President of Azerbaijan believes that peace between Russia and Ukraine is not possible in the near future because the positions of the parties on the territorial issue are irreconcilable, and in the real world, wars usually end only with the victory of one of the parties.
"We always supported, support and will continue to support Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. As a country that has suffered from occupation and the deterioration of our territorial integrity, we fully understand this situation. Anyone you ask will say, "We want the war to stop immediately." Yes, we also want that. However, the key question is how, and whether this ceasefire—or potential temporary ceasefire—will be sustainable. As a country, which had two active wars, and period in between, I can tell you that ceasefire never stops war. Never, and it didn't stop in our case. It's just a temporary relief for countries to regroup, to mobilize, and to start again. I, personally — being a realist — do not see, in the foreseeable future, any prospect for peace between Ukraine and Russia. Russia has declared occupied territories as part of Russia. How can they step back from that? Ukraine considers, as the whole world does, these occupied territories as part of Ukraine, and Azerbaijan considers them as part of Ukraine. How can they sacrifice and say, "No, it's not part of Ukraine"? Well, if it happens, then it means that I do not understand something in international politics. And unfortunately, unfortunately, wars end when there is a final capitulation act. As our friend mentioned from Croatia, they liberated their territory, came to their border, and stopped. And we did the same. We came to our border and stopped. That's how wars end — this is the real world," said President Ilham Aliyev.
The political scientist once again emphasized Azerbaijan's position on the Russia-Ukraine war, stated that Azerbaijan recognizing Ukraine's territorial integrity supports the resolution of the conflict through mutual dialogue and compromise: "Mr. President, while answering new questions at the international forum, also touched upon the topic of the Ukraine war and clearly expressed Azerbaijan's position on this war once again. The President of Azerbaijan stated that Azerbaijan unequivocally recognizes Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Our country's position is that this conflict can only be resolved within the framework of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, through mutual dialogue and compromise. As the President pointed out, the resolution of this conflict in a short period of time, regardless of our wishes, seems to be impossible. The territorial issue, in particular, is the main point of disagreement between the parties to the conflict. Russia has no intention of leaving the occupied territories and wants the international community to recognize these territories as part of Russia. On the other hand, the Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly stated that no concessions will be made regarding the occupied lands, and this is a "red line" for Ukraine. This disagreement prevents the continuation of the conflict and hinders the achievement of lasting peace in the region. The President noted that even if a ceasefire is reached, it will be a temporary solution, and in order to ensure lasting peace, one of the parties must prevail. This would only allow a temporary halt to military operations, but resolving the territorial issue is essential for achieving long-term and sustainable peace in the region. As emphasized by the President, the resolution of the Ukraine war is only possible through the strengthening of peace between the parties, and this will play a crucial role in ensuring stability in the region."
Azerbaijan - PACE relations
President Ilham Aliyev stated at the forum that due to discrimination and injustice against Azerbaijan in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), relations with this organization have been suspended, and the official Baku no longer recognizes the decisions of European institutions from a legal point of view, because the activities of these organizations are inadequate and ineffective:"We joined the Council of Europe in 2001—and by the way, I was the first head of Azerbaijan’s delegation there—we started to see that, unfortunately, our just position was not supported. Since 2001, and never before had Azerbaijan’s delegation’s credibility or credentials been doubted. So, it was exactly because we restored our sovereignty and territorial integrity that, several months later, they decided to deprive us of voting rights, and we decided that under these circumstances, we would just come home. Since that time, we have not participated in their sessions.
By the way, taking into account that we did not participate in the election of judges for the European Court of Human Rights, all the decisions of the European Court, for us, are invalid. This is a position we elaborated, and I just take this opportunity to announce that none of the decisions of the European Court are valid for us because we were deprived of our voting rights. We did not vote for these judges. We don't know who these judges are. So, I think the Council of Europe shot itself in the foot. They wanted to discriminate against Azerbaijan, to isolate us, but actually, they isolated themselves from the Caucasus. And look—recently, the Georgians did the same. I fully support the decision of the Georgian government to put an end to their presence there because, again, it was discrimination. Unfortunately, this colonial thinking among some European politicians—especially those who could not or didn't manage to be elected to the European Parliament and found their place in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly—is counterproductive. I said at that time: did anyone in Azerbaijan notice that we're no longer there? No. We can live like that.
By the way, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe came to Baku last November to attend COP29 and asked me that we do not pull back completely from the organization. I said, “Okay, if you ask, we will stay.” But whether we stay or leave, nothing changes here. The world has changed since we joined this institution, and Europe has changed dramatically. Our aspirations with respect to the European Union have changed dramatically, and the topic of your discussion has changed.
After President Trump came to power, this change became complete, and to behave as if nothing happened and to continue to think that some resolutions in Strasbourg, in the Council of Europe, or the European Parliament make any difference for us is very naive. It’s absolutely inadequate, our attitude toward these institutions."
Political analyst commenting on Azerbaijan's position regarding the Council of Europe stated that, whether international organizations or individual countries, whatever attitude they show towards our country, Azerbaijan also demonstrates an adequate position towards them.
"The President rightly emphasized that the attitude of this organization towards our country is biased and based on double standards. A striking example of this is the suspension of the mandate of Azerbaijan’s delegation in PACE and the exclusion of the delegation from the activities of PACE. It is particularly noted that after the one-day anti-terrorist measures carried out by the Azerbaijan Armed Forces in 2023, the Council of Europe took unilateral and biased steps against our country. These steps are mostly justified by various pretexts, such as "human rights violations." In reality, however, these steps stem from political interests and are taken under the influence of the Armenian lobby and diaspora groups operating in the European space. Naturally, Azerbaijan cannot accept such an attitude. Accordingly, our country shapes its foreign policy and position in international relations."
The head of state in his speech at the international forum held at ADA University themed "Facing a New World Order," shared his views, clear perspectives, and messages on the major processes in the region and the world. The statements made by President Aliyev from ADA and his analyses can also be regarded as a political "master class."
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