Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Against the background of the escalating tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border over the past weeks, President Ilham Aliyev's interview with CNN Turk on August 14 once again shed the light on Azerbaijan's unchanging position on the post-war regional situation and underlined its expectations from its neighbours in view of the new realities.

Serious messages

Aliyev voiced extremely serious messages and new ideas in connection with Azerbaijan's relations with Armenia and other neighbouring countries after the 44-day war and clarified real situation in Karabakh.

It became clear that Azerbaijan actually offers Armenia a way out of the current situation and a roadmap. In particular, the opening of the Zangazur corridor will help Armenia escape from isolation.

During the interview, the head of state spoke sincerely and openly about the regional situation before and after the war, touched on the activities of Armenia, neighboring countries, the Minsk Group, expressed his views on the past and future prospects.

Commenting on the interview, many experts stressed that the regional peace is possible only on the basis of the concept put forward by the Azerbaijani leader.

In an interview with the local media, former Turkish ambassador Hulusi Kilic said that the views expressed by Aliyev showed his unshakable position based on the political determination.

On the one hand, the interview underlines the invariability of Azerbaijan's independent political course, on the other hand, the opportunities created by the new regional situation after the 44-day war are analyzed. In this interview, Aliyev reiterated to the whole world that Azerbaijan is committed to the strategy of good neighborliness and sincere friendship, but at the same time it is capable of protecting its borders and security, the former diplomat said.

He stressed that the issues raised by the president will become a serious signal for the regional countries and international organizations supporting peace and development.

Recalling the Tovuz provocation committed by Armenia in the summer of 2020, Kilic noted that in order to understand the reality of the current situation and make correct conclusions, one should have common sense.

"Unfortunately, false ideology has poisoned the Armenian society's and the Armenian leadership's brains... By signing the trilateral declaration of November 10, 2020, Armenia assumed an international commitment, so it should not waste time to take decisive steps to normalize relations with Azerbaijan and fulfill its obligations. Otherwise, the entire responsibility for violating the ceasefire regime falls on Armenia," he added.

Senior Azerbaijani MP Ziyafat Asgarov believes that the Azerbaijani leader's determination, foresight, his purposeful and thoughtful policy played a decisive role in solving the nation's most important and fateful problem.

He noted that in the future, peace in the region is possible only on the basis of the concept put forward by Aliyev. Asgarov recalled that in his interview the president reiterated the need for Armenia to recognize Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sign a peace treaty for lasting regional peace.

Expectations from neighbours

The MP developed Aliyev's views on Azerbaijan's expectations from its neighbours.

"If the Armenian society accepts the results of the war, Russia should refrain from arming Armenia and take into account Azerbaijan's concerns. The newly-formed government in Iran must also state its policy towards Azerbaijan. The transportation of cargo from this country to the Azerbaijani territories controlled by Russian peacekeepers is met with concern in the Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has recently issued a note to Iran. As for brotherly Turkey, these relations were once again tested in the Great Patriotic War. Azerbaijan's comprehensive support and assistance in preventing the recent forest fires in Turkey was also met with special sympathy in the brotherly country. This is an example of the relations and unity of the two brotherly countries once again reflected in action and work," the MP said.

Some local media outlets underline that Aliyev's remarks about Russia and Iran should be a serious message to Moscow and Tehran. They should reconsider their latest behaviour as Azerbaijan wants to bring peace to the region.

"Of course, the fact that some neighbouring countries send various types of military cargo to Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan through the Lachin corridor is a clear violation of international law and the principles of neighbouliness," an analysis in a Baku-based news website said.

In particular, the fact that Russia, which signed the trilateral declaration, acts contrary to the document it guarantees, and the fact that the issues contained in the declaration are still not implemented by Armenians, may harm Moscow's interests in the region, the website said.

MP Fazil Mustafa said that Aliyev stressed the importance of the countries that supported Azerbaijan in the last year's war. He, in particular, noted that the attitude and unconditional support of countries such as Turkey and Pakistan have become a significant factor, and Azerbaijan considers this assistance to be very important in achieving victory.

"The head of state openly expressed his attitude to Moscow's position..., stating that Russia is our neighbor. We maintain good-neighborly relations at a high level and carry out mutual cooperation. But Russia and Armenia are allies, so Azerbaijan expects that Russia will take certain steps to resolve some issues that remain open after the November 10 statement, " Mustafa said.

The MP underlined that Azerbaijan unconditionally fulfilled the conditions set forth in the November 10 statement, including ensuring the Lachin corridor's opening.

"In the same way, Armenia must fulfill its obligations. Russia's role is also important here, and the peacekeeping contingent must act more actively in this process and, to some extent, induce Armenia to fulfill the statement's provisions," he said.

Mustafa stressed that Aliyev especially noted the fact that Azerbaijan's relations with other neighboring countries are based on mutually beneficial cooperation.

“On the whole, another important issue was raised. In our society, there is an opinion in the spirit of 'Russia is arming Armenia, preparing it for war'. The Azerbaijani president explained this idea in a more original way. He stressed that Russia before the war donated to Armenia weapons worth billions of dollars, some of which are now displayed as museum exhibits in our War Trophy Park. This means that in the current situation, the Russian armament will not help Armenia in any way, since Azerbaijan's potential is much higher than that of Armenia. Therefore, Azerbaijan emphasizes the importance of a peaceful solution to this issue, considering the establishment of stability in the region as one of the main priorities," Mustafa said.

He added that with these statements, President Ilham Aliyev actually outlined Azerbaijan's open position in relation to neighboring countries.

"This issue is important for the regional development, therefore we allowed these countries to reconsider their positions. In particular, the Armenian defence minister's irresponsible statements and the calls of the Armenian elite in this direction, in fact, they are drawing this country into a tragedy and it will be difficult for it to overcome. If Armenia does not abandon its revanchist steps, then its situation will worsen even more," the MP said.

Another MP Kamaladdin Gafarov said that in his interview Aliyev once again openly stated that against the background of new geopolitical and geostrategic realities in the South Caucasus as a result of Azerbaijan's historic victory in the Second Karabakh War, the country expects that all neighboring countries, as well as the world community, have an objective attitude to what is happening and take adequate positions to participate in future processes.

"At the same time, this interview, in fact, sent a clear warning message to all forces that are hostile to Azerbaijan and dream of new threats to our country," he said.

The Azerbaijani president described as a necessary condition the unconditional compliance with all provisions of the November 10 tripartite declaration to ensure a healthy life, stability and development in the South Caucasus. Thus, he expressed his political will and Azerbaijan's unchanging position, Gafarov noted.

The MP stressed that the main task now is to ensure peace, stability and sustainable development in the South Caucasus. For this, all the countries of the region must state their principled and realistic positions. Gafarov said that today all neighboring countries, including Armenia, have a chance to take advantage of new economic development opportunities in the region. However, the correct assessment of the chances given to Armenia will further depend entirely on Yerevan's constructive approach to the issue.

Azerbaijan's stability proposal

Experts see Azerbaijan's stability proposal as the one that will contribute to peace, security and the economic development of the region and its neighbours, and strengthen stability around regional borders. The opening of roads, the creation of the Zangazur corridor, the restoration of all trade relations means ensuring peace in the South Caucasus after a long break.

In fact, Armenia and some regional countries can take the maximum advantage of the opening of transport corridors and new economic projects.

The proposal made by Azerbaijan to all parties is based on progress and stability in the region. The intention not to reconcile with the new post-war realities and to re-launch the insidious plans against Azerbaijan will, first of all, undermine the Armenian statehood. It would be better for Yerevan to draw the most correct conclusions from its recent history and give up its absurd claims and not rely on some foreign forces. Otherwise, Azerbaijan will take new steps for justice, regardless of who is in front of the iron fist, some analysts stated.

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