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Visit of US Assistant Secretary of State: US had to accept the new geopolitical reality created by official Baku

07 December 2023 11:09 (UTC +04:00)

Diplomacy likes logic, consistency, and long-term planning. Situational behaviors and emotional appeals are against the rules of diplomacy.

The visit of the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien to Baku on December 6 and his reception by President Ilham Aliyev is just such an event. Here we can see the punctuality, diplomatic consistency and will of the official Baku. The new geopolitical reality created by the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the eradication of separatism in its territory was initially met with chaotic messages from the United States. As if one of the main geopolitical centers of the world did not know how to react to the restoration of international law by Azerbaijan.

Let's pay attention to the sequence and chronology of events. On November 16, James O'Brien speaks at the hearing of the European subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives and makes harsh criticisms about Azerbaijan. James O'Brien says that relations with Azerbaijan will not be at the previous level until a peace agreement is reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The diplomat says that after Azerbaijan's anti-terrorist operation in Garabagh on September 19, the United States suspended military aid to Azerbaijan and canceled several high-level meetings.

These are rather harsh and contradictory statements. In other words, in the language of a high-ranking Chinese diplomat, the US expressed that official Baku was subject to certain sanctions due to its anti-terrorist measures to restore its territorial integrity and eliminate the military contingent belonging to a foreign state and illegal military formations in its territory.

Of course, this demarche could not be left unanswered by official Baku, which did not violate a single clause of international law, but showed political will and strategic patience.

Official Baku's response to the United States brought official Washington back to its senses and reminded once again that it is not in contact with any "banana republic", or "puppet state", but with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has an independent foreign policy, a stable economy and a determined political will.

This awakening manifested itself during the telephone conversation of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Anthony Blinken, who called President Ilham Aliyev on November 27, had to face and accept the rightful remarks of the Azerbaijani leader.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the Azerbaijani side took into account the postponement of high-level bilateral meetings and contacts about the official Baku of the United States and the statement that "our bilateral relations cannot be the same as before" and responded adequately. The President reminded that the Azerbaijani side, in turn, canceled high-level visits from the United States.

Accepting the remarks made by his deputy's irresponsible statements, the chief diplomat of the United States, Anthony Blinken, had to make one more request to President Ilham Aliyev.

Besides accepting the remarks, he asked the President of Azerbaijan to allow his deputy James O'Brien to visit Azerbaijan.

James O'Brien's visit to Baku on December 6 was possible under these conditions.

In the meeting with the head of state, President Ilham Aliyev, James O'Brien no longer demonstrated his aggressive diplomatic approach in the Congress, he had to speak in a mild language.

At the meeting, he stated the importance of looking into the future of US-Azerbaijani relations. In the meeting, the resumption of mutual visits was evaluated as a positive step for advancing bilateral relations.

O'Brien, in his post on the X account after the contacts in Baku, noted that he had positive and constructive meetings in Baku. "As I said in the meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the US welcomes the visits of the Chairman of the Central Bank and the Minister of Energy, and Secretary Blinken is looking forward to receiving Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan in Washington soon for peace talks," he said in his post.

The United States accepted the principled position put forward by Azerbaijan and understood that it could not continue relations with official Baku with harsh rhetoric.

On the contrary, official Baku's answers woke up official Washington and the Biden administration and explained the fact that the sooner they accept the reality that Garabagh is an eternal and eternal part of Azerbaijan, the more forward the relations with Azerbaijan can be.

Thus, the telephone conversation between Anthony Blinken and Ilham Aliyev and the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State James O'Brien to Baku created conditions for the positive development of relations between the two countries, as well as the visit of Azerbaijani officials to the US.

Global events reconcile the US with the reality of Azerbaijan's restoration of territorial integrity and return diplomatic relations between the two countries to the previous level. What happened is the next diplomatic victory of official Baku, the next decisive step taken for the establishment of peace in the region.