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Qabil Ashirov

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Today, a roundtable event themed “President Ilham Aliyev's Peace Strategy Is the Guarantee of Stability” was held under the organisation of the Azerbaijan Media Development Agency.

Opening the event with introductory remarks, Deputy Executive Director of the Media Development Agency Natiq Mammadli spoke about the message delivered by President Ilham Aliyev during his meeting in Zangilan with families relocating to the city’s first residential complex, as well as the importance of the peace strategy. During the event, participants highlighted the importance of a peace strategy for the South Caucasus, along with a number of significant issues that must be addressed to ensure lasting peace in the region.

Former Foreign Minister and political analyst Tofig Zulfugarov stated during the event that for 30 years, the Garabagh conflict was not resolved either through the “initiatives” of the OSCE Minsk Group or through international institutions. Eventually, in 2020, Azerbaijan entered into armed confrontation in response to provocations by separatist forces in Armenia and managed to resolve the Garabagh issue within 44 days.

During the event, particular emphasis was also placed on President Ilham Aliyev’s speech in Zangilan regarding foreign pressure exerted against Azerbaijan and biased approaches toward the country. France, the UN, and a number of organisations called for sanctions against Azerbaijan instead of supporting what participants described as Azerbaijan’s just position. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan succeeded in defeating various organisations standing behind separatist forces, along with their principal supporters.

During the discussions, two key issues were also addressed. The first concerned the upcoming WUF13 event to be held in Azerbaijan and the opportunity it will provide to demonstrate reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories to the international community.

It was noted that Azerbaijan allocates more than 4 billion manat annually for the restoration of the liberated territories.

The second issue concerned ongoing regional developments. Parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia within the coming weeks. According to speakers, a “new Armenia vision” is currently being shaped, accompanied by a struggle between revanchist forces and the current authorities. Naturally, there are also forces in Armenia that support separatist tendencies and are attempting to use the situation to expand opportunities for external interference in the region. Participants stressed that there is no doubt that the South Caucasus is steadily increasing its geopolitical significance globally.

Later, Member of Parliament Rizvan Nabiyev spoke about the Zangezur Corridor as well as Azerbaijan’s approach to peace principles. The MP noted that peace diplomacy remains one of Azerbaijan’s key priorities. Expressing regret, he emphasised that international organisations often treat legal principles superficially. According to him, although Armenia has accepted the realities created by Azerbaijan, France still attempts to oppose these realities and, through its interference, seeks to return Armenia to its previous mistakes.

During the event, historian and researcher Rizvan Huseynov discussed Europe’s colonial past despite its current rhetoric regarding civilisation and human rights. During his speech, he sharply criticised the principles of neocolonialism, which he said have created a disgraceful image in the modern world. Huseynov noted that French neocolonialism remains a rarely discussed topic, despite its growing relevance today. Referring to the three stages of this policy, the historian said France achieved its goals through financial influence, military interventions, and by subordinating governments in those countries to its own interests.

“For 80 years, France had built a policy centred around itself. However, over the last 10–15 years, beginning with the Arab Spring, France suffered serious setbacks. Recently, France has attempted to turn its attention towards the South Caucasus region. Because Russia’s weakening influence in the region created an opportunity for France to exploit the situation. Unfortunately, Armenia has always served as a forward post in this regard,” Rizvan Huseynov stated.

He added that Azerbaijan is the leader of the region and will preserve this leadership. In this regard, he said France’s attempt to turn Armenia into its outpost will fail. According to him, France will attempt to exert pressure on Azerbaijan through Armenia. The first instrument, he said, will be the unjustified militarisation of Armenia. The second will involve isolating Armenia from regional projects under the pretext of “crisis management”. Thirdly, this process could ultimately weaken Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government.

Concluding the event, Deputy Executive Director of the Media Development Agency Natiq Mammadli emphasised the role of the media in today’s information environment. He stated that the principal function of Azerbaijani media is to promote peace worldwide. According to him, the media today is being used as one of the sharpest weapons, and Azerbaijan has always used this instrument in support of peace and stability.