BREAKTHROUGH IN BRUSSELS

The official opening of the Southern Gas Corridor, commissioning of one of its main segments, the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP), meeting of the International Contact Group on Afghanistan in Baku, meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, visit of the President of Turkey to Baku, etc. Yet another important event in the foreign policy agenda of Azerbaijan was the successful visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Brussels, where he took part in the NATO summit at the invitation of the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

In the final communiqué of the summit, NATO member states once again supported the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, as well as the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict on the basis of these principles. “Since 2006, the NATO member states have always supported the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan in the final statements adopted by the summits,” stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

President Ilham Aliyev and President of the EU Council Donald Tusk took part at the ceremony of signing a new cooperation agreement with the European Union “Partnership Priorities” held in Brussels during the NATO summit. The document was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Vice President of the European Commission, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

The document should replace the previous agreement on partnership and cooperation signed in 1996 considering new realities, common goals and challenges that the EU and Azerbaijan are facing today.

The European Union emphasizes that Azerbaijan has a favourable geostrategic position, which contributes to the implementation of energy projects. It is also noted that among the main priorities are the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor project and, as a result, the supply of natural gas to European markets. In addition, the document reflects the prospects for dialogue between Azerbaijan and the European Union in the field of visa abolition.

It is noteworthy that in the first paragraph of the “Partnership Priorities” the parties expressed their commitment to support not only the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of states, but also the inviolability of international borders.

“The Republic of Azerbaijan commends reiterated support by NATO Member States and EU respectively at Summit Communique and EU-Azerbaijan Partnership Priorities Document to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan,” reads the statement from the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan.

“Gifts” from intermediaries: Yerevan is offside

In fact, Yerevan was very concerned with such a support. Nikol Pashinian, who came to power on the revolutionary wave, tried to threaten NATO and the EU with a refusal to participate in the summit, if the principle of territorial integrity of regional countries is once again supported in the final document. At the same time, it was known from the beginning that the new Armenian pro-Western prime minister would not under any circumstances miss a chance to hang out in Brussels.

It is noteworthy that Armenia received the “gifts” from NATO and the EU just before the meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia initiated by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on the margins of the NATO summit. It is clear that this was a first meeting of Elmar Mammadyarov with his new Armenian colleague Zohrab Mnatsakanian, where both ministers only got to know each other. However, the ministerial meeting lasted for four hours, and the fact that they agreed to hold another meeting in the near future can be called a result. Moreover, according to the statement of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the parties “discussed further steps and parameters for the resumption of substantive negotiations.” Also, according to the information agency AzerTAG with reference to the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev, the parties noted their commitment to “continue the existing format of negotiations”. In other words, there is no question of any involvement of separatist entity in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan (the so-called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’) in the negotiation process.

These decisions of NATO and the EU also reflect the position of the U.S. and France, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group responsible for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The position of the third co-chairman of the Minsk Group, Russia, is clearly demonstrated by recent statements by members of a prestigious Russian delegation, which they made at the Azerbaijani village of Jojug Marjanly liberated from Armenian occupation in April 2016. “Nagorno-Karabakh and seven occupied regions must be released and transferred to Azerbaijan without any additional conditions,” said Dmitry Saveliev, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee. According to another Russian MP Alexei Yezubov, at one time, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia developed a road map according to which Yerevan should return five occupied regions first.

In general, as President Ilham Aliyev stated at a recent government meeting, thesis about the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity was reflected in all bilateral and multilateral documents signed by Azerbaijan.

Baku's consistent diplomatic offensive goes hand in hand with the growth of economic opportunities, regional influence, and military power of the country. It is enough to mention the hysteria raised by Armenia at international level after the military parade on the 100^th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and large-scale exercises of the Azerbaijani army.

If we add to all of the above that Moscow finds the pro-Western aspirations of the new Armenian authorities irritating, the situation around the settlement of the Karabakh conflict is clearly not in favour of Armenia.

Azerbaijan - the U.S.: a new stage

Azerbaijan, however, has been demonstrating an equidistant policy with all world power centres not to the detriment of the interests of third parties.

Recent events have demonstrated the growing strategic importance of Azerbaijan both for its neighbours, and for the EU and the U.S. Azerbaijani president noted that in the first half of this year Baku's relations with Washington rose to a new level. “In April-May, the U.S. President Trump sent me three letters regarding the elections, the 100^th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, and the official opening of the Southern Gas Corridor. They all demonstrate the attitude and respect of the American government towards Azerbaijan. We are glad that today the U.S.-Azerbaijan relations reflect their true essence. I am confident that these ties will strengthen in the coming years,” Aliyev noted.

According to news agency Interfax-Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Defence Minister Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov also met with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis on the margins of the Brussels summit of NATO.

“During the meeting, E. Mammadyarov and Z. Hasanov invited their American colleagues to visit Azerbaijan. The invitation was accepted by the American side,” the message says.

President Ilham Aliyev also highlighted some fact at the North Atlantic Council meeting on the Strong Support mission carried out by NATO in Afghanistan. He underlined that since January 2018, Azerbaijan has increased the number of its peacekeepers in Afghanistan by 30%.

“Several times Azerbaijan provided financial support to the Trust Fund for the National Army of Afghanistan. We are organizing exercises in Azerbaijan for the personnel of the Afghani army. ASAN Xidmət is used in Afghanistan and covers more than 200 public services. Azerbaijan also provides transport and logistics support to the mission Strong Support. The commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in October 2017 facilitated the provision of significant transit support for this mission,” the president said.

The support of Azerbaijan from the closest member of NATO, Turkey, deserves special attention. It is not accidental that Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his first foreign visit after the presidential elections to Azerbaijan just before the Brussels summit. “I want that at the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels we raise and solve some common problems,” the Turkish president said in Baku.

It is impossible to please everybody

Of course, the growing role of Azerbaijan in regional and world affairs cannot please everyone. There will be forces that will see a threat to their interests and will try to resist. The recent provocations taking place in Azerbaijan should also be considered in this context.

In early July, a Russian citizen of Azerbaijani origin who illegally fought in Syria, a radical Islamist Yunis Safarov, assaulted the mayor of the city of Ganja, Elmar Veliyev, with a gun and wounded him and his bodyguard. Then, some forces started praising this act in order to make a terrorist suspect a “great martyr”, who allegedly opposed “social oppression”. After that, massive provocations were prepared under the pretext of supporting the “Ganja avenger”. As a result, two high-ranking police officers of Ganja, Colonel Ilgar Balakishiyev and Lieutenant-Colonel Samed Abbasov, were killed by provocateurs. Another police officer was wounded. By all accounts, what happened is classified as a terrorist attack. That’s how the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan evaluated the events.

Who is behind the incident and what forces tried to destabilise the situation in Azerbaijan? According to presidential aide Ali Hasanov, “Judging from video footage of Y. Safarov's wife repeatedly published in both local and foreign media, it turns out that he committed this act not for personal reasons, not for revenge or, as some claim, to protest “social oppression”. Rather, he did so in the name of “ideals” that he fought for in Syria, to ascertain the Shariah state.”

Mr. Hasanov noted that foreign religious websites have been overzealous in creating tension by “committing systemic ideological provocation against Azerbaijan and its independent policy”. Interestingly, the events were also supported by forces, which have been traditionally known as secular, pro-Western opposition. “We are facing with the synchronized ideological provocation against our statehood by separatists, religious radicals, and ‘fake opposition’ working only for money and comfort. This disgusting intention of external anti-Azerbaijani forces can be understood but it is impossible to understand the treacherous zeal of those who support them inside Azerbaijan trying to justify a brutal crime against the police officers, or, having fled abroad, turned into a hostage of Armenian money,” Hasanov said.

Certainly, there is no need to talk about the presence of prerequisites for religious discontent in Azerbaijan. Authoritative representatives of the Islamic community of Azerbaijan unanimously confirm these words. Azerbaijan is one of the rare countries where the secular foundations of the state peacefully coexist with Islamic ideals, where Sunnis and Shiites perform rituals in unity, etc. The last year was held in Azerbaijan under the sign of the Year of Islamic Solidarity. This year, Nakhchivan is declared the capital of Islamic culture. New and beautiful mosques are built all over the country. Accordingly, religious motives are just a pretext for terror and destabilization of the situation.

Either way, official institutions of Azerbaijan will draw appropriate conclusions from ongoing events to handle the challenges that threaten the national interests of Azerbaijan. In general, the international recognition of Azerbaijan, its economic development and socio-political situation contribute to further strengthening of Baku's position as an equal and self-sufficient participant in world politics.