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Qabil Ashirov

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Despite all the pressure throughout the book, the protagonist proclaims that the region must look like itself in the book called Ali and Nino. Many think that it is a novel of love story, but it is also a good history book. The book Ali and Nino describes well the social, economic, and political life of the South Caucasus in the inception of the 1900s. As is known, the book ends sadly - despite all the efforts of locals, Ali, the protagonist of the book, is killed and the nascent Azerbaijani state is erased from the map of the world. From history, we know that not only Azerbaijan but also newly founded Georgia and Armenia shared the same fate.

Reading the book, one could think that nothing has changed over one hundred years. As in the book, Armenians have been used and are being used as a tool to stir up the region by fomenting political unrest and goading military forces to illegally occupy a neighboring country. Getting discouraged, one could think that the countries in the South Caucasus that reestablished their independence a second time could lose them due to Armenians, once again. On the other hand, it is a reality that the region has never been too close to lasting peace, like today. But it is also a reality that getting lasting peace is up to the courage of Armenian statepersons and politicians. Like the students in Ali and Nino, the Armenian statespersons and politicians should stand up and directly tell the outsiders and strangers that the South Caucasus should look like itself. Armenians should have enough courage to tell them - get your hands out of the region; we, the three countries, are well enough and can solve our problems by ourselves. It is worth noting that unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia demonstrated such a stance. These two countries cooperate in different spheres, and the cooperation gets further day by day. It goes without saying that these two friendly countries are strategic allies. Azerbaijan is a leading country in the region and Georgia is a gateway to Europe, one of the biggest markets in the world. So to say, these two fraternal countries complete each other.

However, it is not enough. Because the South Caucasus is a region that unites three countries and is the leading segment of the world economy. Here, for development, it is necessary to ensure peace and unity first, and for lasting peace, Armenia should join this initiative in order to complete the big political jigsaw that opens a broad way to prosperity. Therefore, the exclusion of Armenia from the initiative to become a unique power in the region can lead to possible dangers not only for Armenia but also for the future of the region. In other words, where there is unity, there is no need for the intervention of outside forces.

As Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during his visit to Georgia in 2022, if peace is established between Azerbaijan and Armenia, peace will be established in the South Caucasus and opportunities for cooperation will be created. He stated that views were exchanged on the start of Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia consultations and that Azerbaijan is ready for it.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev repeated his words during his visit to Georgia on October 8, 2023, and he emphasized that if the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia normalize, a completely new situation will arise in the region.

Azerbaijan declares the creation of a new format of cooperation between the CIS countries in favor of solving the problems of the region within the framework of the region and that this format will serve the development of the region in general.

In accordance with the instructions of the President of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Ali Asadov's visit to Georgia on October 25, 2023, took place within the framework of the tripartite format concept declared by Ilham Aliyev. Within the framework stated by the Azerbaijani President, cooperation can create a new environment in the South Caucasus and pave the way for new economic projects. This would require the creation of an integrated model of the CIS countries and if Armenia wants, it can be a part of this model.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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