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Russian expert: Azerbaijan's NAM chairmanship - recognition of its merit

28 October 2019 17:56 (UTC+04:00)
Russian expert: Azerbaijan's NAM chairmanship - recognition of its merit

By Trend

Participation in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is very important for Azerbaijan, Head of the Center for Strategic Analysis of the Russian Institute for Innovative Development, well-known Russian expert Andrey Ivanov told Trend.

Moreover, the fact that Azerbaijan has been chosen to chair the movement clearly demonstrates the country's adherence to the NAM principles, he added.

Azerbaijan, like no other country, is at the crossroads of a wide range of political and economic interests, but at the same time it has maintained complete independence for many years, both in domestic and foreign policy, the Russian expert noted.

"Nowadays, Azerbaijan has good, warm relations with almost all global political players and regional powers. The country develops trade and cultural ties, both with neighbors and with distant countries. But at the same time, it does not take sides, does not join any warlike associations and does not set goals to enter them. In fact, only Azerbaijan in the entire post-Soviet space can boast of such a degree of sovereignty," Ivanov said.

"At the same time, Baku does not refuse to dialogue with anyone, even on the most acute problems. So, electing Azerbaijan as the chair of the movement is both recognition of merit and great trust. And, of course, the Azerbaijan's chairmanship in NAM also means new opportunities for the country, first of all, in the defense of national interests and the principle of respect for the sovereignty of states," he added.

The Russian analyst stressed that NAM was established in the midst of the Cold War, noting that the purpose of the unification was that the countries, which created the movement, resolutely opposed any attempts to drag them into others' geopolitical games.

"Moreover, there were different socio-political and economic systems in different states. But that was the purpose of the movement, which affirmed the right of every people to choose their own path, and at the same time, each country could develop independently of the superpowers' interests," Ivanov said.

"Today, the geopolitical confrontation is again escalating. States are united in various blocs that are not formally hostile to each other, but are clearly created to strengthen their positions in the face of fierce competition. If during the Cold War there were two superpowers - the US and the USSR, today both global and regional powers are trying to create their own blocs on the world stage. This only exacerbates the confrontation in various regions of the world. We see different forces fighting for influence in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa," said the head of the center for strategic analysis.

The expert noted that now the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement are once again becoming extremely urgent, since the interests of small states can simply be ignored because of the interests of large players.

According to Andrey Ivanov, the Non-Aligned Movement is there to avoid all this.

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