Azerbaijan-European Union relations after the historical victory

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Baku Slavic University

Azerbaijan-European Union relations after the historical victory

Aliyeva Aygun Mehman gizi Postdoctoral Student

Baku

Annotation

azerbaijan european union war

The main purpose of the research is to examine in detail and comprehensively the relations of the winner Azerbaijan with the European Union after the historical victory achieved as a result of the 44-day Patriotic War. It should be noted that historic victory of Azerbaijan in the Second Karabakh War has created completely new realities in the South Caucasus region. As a result of the research conducted based on these realities, it is clear that today Azerbaijan acts as the most reliable partner for the European Union in the fields of regional cooperation, energy and transport security and strategic communication. But, the European Union shows double standards, especially against the background of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations. In the course of the research, with the main facts this point is proven once again. However, the article highlights not only the contradictions of Azerbaijan-EU relations, but also other aspects. In this regard, the fact that the EU has demonstrated its support for the creation of communication infrastructure in the South Caucasus region, the opening of lines that ensure communication between countries, as well as the construction and development of the railway along the Zangezur corridor, is a positive manifestation of these perspectives. Methods. Taking into account the characteristics of factors in political, economic, energy and other directions the principle of objectivity, which is the basis of the research, necessitates their analysis. The principle of scientific reliability applied in the research work ensures the problem to be investigated based on primary sources, extensive facts and fundamental scientific information and more reliable results to be obtained.

Scientific novelty of the article. While investigating all the scientific issues raised in the article, the information of the first sources was taken as a basis.

In the Conclusion, it is noted that today relations with the EU are among the main priorities of the foreign policy for the leadership of Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Azerbaijan is fulfilling all its duties at a high level. With this, Azerbaijan strengthens relations with the EU, and once again reveals its activity as a leading state and a leading country in the region. The development of Azerbaijan-EU relations depends on the parties accepting each other as equal partners. The brilliant victory of Azerbaijan in the 44-day Patriotic War prompted the EU to change its attitude towards the region. The EU chose the line to be more active in order to penetrate the emerging geopolitical landscape. However, it had to accept the fact that Russia and Turkey were already playing a leading role in the region. The EU is working towards making its South Caucasus policy more efficient within the highlighted conditions. Currently, the EU attaches more importance to relations with Azerbaijan.

Key words: Azerbaijan, European Union, Patriotic War, Armenia, South Caucasus.

Анотація

Відносини між Азербайджаном і Європейським Союзом після історичної перемоги

Алієва Айгюн Мехман гизи Докторант Бакинського слов'янського університету Баку

Основна мета дослідження - детально та всебічно розглянути відносини Азербайджану-переможця з Європейським Союзом після історичної перемоги, досягнутої в результаті 44-денної Вітчизняної війни. Слід зазначити, що історична перемога Азербайджану у Другій Карабаській війні створила абсолютно нові реалії в південнокавказькому регіоні. У результаті дослідження, проведеного на основі цих реалій, стає зрозумілим, що сьогодні Азербайджан виступає як найнадійніший партнер Європейського Союзу в сферах регіонального співробітництва, енергетичної та транспортної безпеки та стратегічних комунікацій. Але Євросоюз демонструє подвійні стандарти, особливо на тлі азербайджано-вірменських відносин. У ході дослідження за допомогою основних фактів це ще раз підтверджується. Однак у статті висвітлюються не тільки суперечності відносин Азербайджан-ЄС, а й інші аспекти. У зв'язку з цим той факт, що ЄС продемонстрував свою підтримку створенню комунікаційної інфраструктури в регіоні Південного Кавказу, відкриттю ліній, які забезпечують сполучення між країнами, а також будівництву та розвитку залізниці вздовж Зангезурського коридору, є позитивним проявом цих перспектив. Методи. Враховуючи особливості факторів політичного, економічного, енергетичного та інших напрямків, принцип об'єктивності, покладений в основу дослідження, зумовлює необхідність їх аналізу. Принцип наукової достовірності, застосований у дослідницькій роботі, забезпечує дослідження проблеми на основі першоджерел, обширних фактів і фундаментальної наукової інформації та отримання більш достовірних результатів.

Наукова новизна статті. При дослідженні всіх наукових питань, порушених у статті, за основу були взяті відомості першоджерел.

У висновку зазначається, що сьогодні відносини з ЄС є одними з головних пріоритетів зовнішньої політики для керівництва Азербайджану, і Азербайджанська Республіка на високому рівні виконує всі свої обов'язки. Цим Азербайджан зміцнює відносини з ЄС і ще раз демонструє свою активність як провідної держави та провідної країни в регіоні. Розвиток відносин між Азербайджаном і ЄС залежить від сприйняття сторонами одна одної як рівноправних партнерів. Блискуча перемога Азербайджану в 44-денній Вітчизняній війні спонукала Єс змінити своє ставлення до регіону. ЄС вибрав активнішу лінію, щоб проникнути в новий геополітичний ландшафт. Однак їй довелося погодитися з тим, що Росія і Туреччина вже відігравали провідну роль у регіоні. ЄС працює над тим, щоб зробити свою політику на Південному Кавказі більш ефективною в рамках виділених умов. Зараз ЄС надає більшого значення відносинам з Азербайджаном.

Ключові слова: Азербайджан, Європейський Союз, Вітчизняна війна, Вірменія, Південний Кавказ.

Introduction

The multi-vector foreign policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which was founded by the Great leader Heydar Aliyev and ensures the implementation of the strategy of flexible alliances, helps to further strengthen the position of Azerbaijan in the international world, to become a leading country of the South Caucasus, as well as to properly direct the existing resources to ensure and strengthen the state independence and to develop new potential. Today, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, successfully and consistently continues the course of developing equal and mutually beneficial relations with new content, taking into account national interests.

The goal of the article is to review the relations between the victorious Azerbaijan and the European Union after the historical victory achieved as a result of the Second Karabakh War and to examine mutual relations against the background of existing contradictions.

Methods and methodologies used in the article

Systematic and comparative analysis methods were used in the article. The historical-comparative method allows the author to compare the views of different researchers and experts on the problem. The generally accepted special political methods of the sciences of history, international relations and politology, based on the achievements of modern scientific and theoretical thought, were also used in the article.

Scientific novelty of the article

While investigating all the scientific issues raised in the article, the information of the primary sources was used as the basis.

Main sources

Among the main sources used, the articles of R. Bakhshaliyev, K. Adigezalov, V. Bayramov and others relating to the stage of development of the cooperation of the European Union with Azerbaijan, especially after the Patriotic War, can be distinguished.

Main part

As President Ilham Aliyev noted in his speeches, “The results of the Second Karabakh War have created new realities for the region. New opportunities for cooperation have emerged in the region. Very important conditions have been created for ensuring long-term peace, and at the same time, new opportunities have arisen to enter a new era in our country” [7]. These words indicated the comprehensive success of President Ilham Aliyev's far-sighted diplomacy on the way to the historic victory.

In this sense, the Eastern Partnership Summit on June 18, 2020, on the eve of the 44-day Patriotic War, went down in history as the next political victory of Azerbaijan over Armenia. In his speech at the Summit, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan gave his final warnings on the way to a peaceful resolution of the problem by noting the importance of following the 4 resolutions of the UN Security Council, which have not yet been implemented, these resolutions and the relevant documents adopted by other international organizations. Taking into account that Armenia was one of the six neighboring countries of the European Union in the “Eastern Partnership”, this speech can also be considered as the last reminder to the neighboring country from the European tribune. The attention should be paid to the views of the head of state in the aforementioned speech: “Instead of complying with these resolutions, as well as relevant documents adopted by the OSCE, the Non-Aligned Movement, NATO, the European Parliament and other international organizations, Armenia implements a policy of illegal settlement in the occupied territories. Contrary to what the prime minister of Armenia, who tried to destroy the essence and format of the talks, said, Nagorno-Karabakh is not Armenia, but Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan, and the whole world recognizes it as so. Territorial integrity of Azerbaijan should be restored” [3].

These views confirmed that Armenia not only does not approach solving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem in a peaceful way, but also believes that there is no problem at all. Undoubtedly, the best answer given to a state with this mindset was the 44-day Patriotic War.

The Republic of Azerbaijan, which was able to solve the situation on the European front before the 44-day Patriotic War, managed to develop its relations with the European countries on an upward line during and after the Patriotic War.

On September 27, 2020, at the meeting of the Security Council chaired by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, a decision was made to launch a counter-offensive operation of the Azerbaijani army in response to the provocation of the Armenian side. This counter-offensive operation, known as Operation of Iron Fist, is a glorious page of our history written in golden letters. Azerbaijan won a brilliant victory in 44 days and defeated Armenia, ending the occupation. Thus, against the background of the support of pro-Armenian France to Armenia of no avail, the fact that Germany did not show a neutral and very interventionist position, in addition to that, Gary Jones, the regional president of the British Petroleum Company of Great Britain, in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ali Asadov, showed support for the struggle of Azerbaijan, indirectly presented us with the position of the former European Union country.

Ilham Aliyev on his own gave new content to the entire information field during the period of active military operations that served to ensure territorial integrity. He proved to biased journalists from abroad that Azerbaijan does not want war, that Baku ensures its territorial integrity with justice and by observing international law, and in this sense, in fact, provides assistance to the UN and the EU. If Armenia leaves the occupied lands, Azerbaijan will immediately stop operations and may discuss cooperation prospects with Iravan. Provided that Armenia accepts the capitulation and signs the appropriate document.

Thus, the document signed between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on November 10, 2020 and the document signed in Moscow on January 11, 2021 proved that Russia and Turkey are capable to solve any problem with assurance in the South Caucasus without the participation of the West. In solving the problem, it was clear that international organizations were left out of these processes. The terms of the agreements reached showed that along with the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan has risen to the status of playing a leading role in the fields of regional cooperation, energy and transport security and strategic communication on a wider scale.

Thus, according to the agreements reached, the opening of communication lines in the region and the participation of the regional states within the framework of various international projects were given serious importance. In this regard, the creation of the Zangezur corridor was of strategic importance. It became clear that within 44-days, Azerbaijan changed the geopolitical dynamics, the balance of forces and the general picture in the South Caucasus in such a way that none of the global powers could operate in the region with the previous logic.

The second aspect was related to Azerbaijan stepping on the path of rapid economic development in recent years, further improving its independent policy and renewing the geopolitical balance in the region thanks to the brilliant victory achieved in the Second Karabakh War. As a result, on the one hand, the major geopolitical powers of the world had to reconsider their policies in the region, and on the other hand, they began to consider Azerbaijan as the main geopolitical factor in this region.

The Kingdom of Great Britain, which is one of the most powerful countries in the world and one of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, stood by Baku with its silent political support throughout the 44-day war. As the most vivid example of this, Great Britain vetoed the statement against Azerbaijan by using its exceptional right in the voting held at the UN Security Council. This statement, made about the conflict near the end of the war, was considered non-objective and biased. It is clear that the draft statement was the result of the efforts of the Armenian lobby. The document mentioned the immediate cessation of hostilities, the inadmissibility of third countries' interference in the process, and the presence of terrorists in the conflict zone. The principled position of official London prevented the adoption of a statement aimed at supporting Armenia. Great Britain's permanent representative to the UN Security Council, Barbara Woodward, declared that the document was nonobjective and biased, that Azerbaijan was conducting peace enforcement operations on its territory and was trying to restore its territorial integrity, and used her veto right to block the adoption of the document.

During the Patriotic War, Italy also showed solidarity with Azerbaijan. Only objective materials were published in the media of this country, thus disinformation policy of Armenia failed [1].

During the 44-day Patriotic War, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev demonstrated worldclass maturity, fairness, agility, strategic thinking, determination and pragmatic steps in each of the directions of politics, diplomacy, military field and information.

3 years ago, the Azerbaijani Army ended the nearly 30-year-long occupation of Armenia in just 44 days, and the enemy was defeated on the battlefield. This war, first of all, went down in history as the embodiment of determination, political wisdom and foresight of President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev overcame all international pressures in 44 days and from the first day of the war to the end resolutely ensured the national interests of our state and people. Armenia signed the capitulation on the basis of Azerbaijan's conditions. In this sense, the tripartite declaration of November 10, was not only a legal confirmation of our military victory, but also a historic political and diplomatic success.

During the past 3 years of the 44-day Patriotic War, the position of Azerbaijan has strengthened even more. Many strategic heights came under the control of Azerbaijan. On April 23, 2023, our territorial integrity was completely restored by creating a border crossing point on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border in the direction of Lachin [4].

On September 19, as a result of local anti-terror measures, Azerbaijan fully secured its sovereignty. As a result of the anti-terror measures implemented in less than 24 hours, the Armenian armed forces illegally settled in the territory of Azerbaijan surrendered and accepted the conditions put forward by Azerbaijan. So, during the past 3 years of the 44-day Patriotic War, Armenia's avoidance of peace worked against Iravan and the separatists. Azerbaijan, as the leader state of the region, is taking decisive steps in this direction by offering peace.

After the local anti-terror measures that took place on September 19, 2023, the radical proArmenian statements of the French officials, the intensification of the desire to arm Armenia, and at the same time the statement of the President of the EU Council Charles Michel accusing Baku naturally caused rightful dissatisfaction of Azerbaijan. Declaring that there is no need to sit at the same table with the radical and biased 4, Azerbaijan on the whole, did not accept the intervention of France and Germany in the discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus. Also, Azerbaijan rightly refused the pentalateral meeting scheduled for October 5, 2023 in Granada, Spain [2]. Because Baku's proposal regarding Turkey's participation in this meeting was a very constructive one. If France is at the negotiating table with a radical pro-Armenian position, Turkey had the right to participate in these discussions as well. The Armenia-Azerbaijan-France-Germany-European Union format offered to Azerbaijan, that is, the five-way format, was nothing but an anti-Azerbaijani platform. The biased position of the EU in recent times should have been properly answered by those who opposed official Baku's guarantee of its sovereign rights.

Any platform in which France participates is not in the interests of Azerbaijan. Official Baku has always stated that we do not intend to negotiate for the sake of negotiations. The rejection of the Granada meeting prevented speculation for its own political purposes under the guise of “Peace Talks”. As President Ilham Aliyev also declared, “Armenia and the hypocritical countries behind it should know very well that no dirty plan against us will be implemented”.

On the other hand, the European Parliament, adhering to its tradition, served the interests of various lobby groups and displayed an unfair position towards our country, repeatedly showing a biased and one-sided position against Azerbaijan. The European Parliament took an anti-Azerbaijani position and adopted biased resolutions during the 44-day Patriotic War. The European Parliament, which once opposed even the Southern Gas Corridor - one of the main projects ensuring energy security of Europe, did not hesitate to adopt the resolution, which contains clauses targeting Azerbaijan baselessly. In the documents signed by the European Parliament before that, besides the groundless claims against Azerbaijan, there were also references to the “Madrid Principles”, which no longer have any political and legal basis. While Armenia declared that it recognized the sovereignty of Azerbaijan in the post-conflict normalization meetings held in accordance with the Brussels format, it was of course unacceptable to mention the failed “Madrid Principles”. It was, of course, absurd that the European Parliament, which had been silent for 30 years against the violation of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, acted as a defender of Armenia's territorial integrity today. As President Ilham Aliyev has always stated, the European Parliament is more aggressive towards Azerbaijan than to the Armenian Parliament. Sometimes it seems that these resolutions are adopted by the Armenian parliament or maybe some Armenian lobby groups have an influence on them [6].

On September 23, 2023, the fact that no document against Azerbaijan was adopted at the UN Security Council meeting dedicated to Karabakh was another fiasco of Armenia. Having suffered a heavy defeat on the battlefield, Armenia no longer has chance for maneuver in the field of diplomacy. At the meeting, several countries, especially the groundless accusations of France and Germany did not change anything. During these discussions, rightful position of Azerbaijan was once again brought to attention. The true nature of the аnti-terror measures implemented by official Baku was highlighted. The goal was only to neutralize terrorists, which is Azerbaijan's sovereign right. Anti-terror measures were carried out in accordance with the UN charter and the goal was to ensure the sovereignty and security of our country [5].

With that, Azerbaijan brought to the attention of all international partners from the UN tribune that the illegal military presence was a serious threat and Azerbaijan ensured the security of the region by preventing it.

One of the main realities is that today Azerbaijan is the party shaping the agenda in the region, including Azerbaijan-Armenia relations.

Conclusion

The independent Azerbaijan founded by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev became a strong state during the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan was restored.

It was our strong army under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev who restored the territorial integrity of our country in the 44-day Patriotic War of 2020. In 2023, the sovereignty of our state was fully restored in 24 hours. President Ilham Aliyev restored justice and international law by liberating Karabakh from occupation. Thus, Azerbaijan went down in history as the only country in the post-Soviet space that fully restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty. President Ilham Aliyev created a new reality in the region and in the world, and everyone now agree with this reality.

Today, mutual relations with the EU are one of the main priorities of foreign policy for Azerbaijan, and the Republic of Azerbaijan fulfills all its duties at a high level. Azerbaijan is strengthening its relations with the European Union, and is once again showing its activity as a leading state and a leading country in the region. The development of Azerbaijan-EU relations depends on the parties accepting each other as equal partners. The brilliant victory of Azerbaijan in the 44-day Patriotic War made the EU to change its attitude towards the region. The EU chose to be more active in order to penetrate the emerging geopolitical landscape. However, at this time, it had to accept the fact that Russia and Turkey were already playing a leading role in the region. The EU is working towards making its policy towards the South Caucasus more efficient within the highlighted conditions. Currently, the EU attaches more importance to mutual relations with Azerbaijan.

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