Masterclass by President Aliyev on how to deflect a political provocation
Francophonie and CSTO

ANALYTICS  23 November 2022 - 17:52

President Ilham Aliyev’s speech at the event marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the ruling party "Yeni Azerbaijan" (New Azerbaijan) is worth studying. Most importantly because it reveals facts on the counterattacks that Baku successfully took on the international political front. Stories voiced by Aliyev are examples of diplomatic mastery, sometimes not at a table or a tribune, but in the margins of the conference rooms. And the president clearly showed how our country’s diplomacy works, providing a powerful shield against the threats and toxic attacks from our opponents.

Baku, thanks to its international authority and considerable influence, managed to prevent political provocations literally in the hornet’s nest from supporters of Yerevan, such as at the summit of the Francophonie member states, where perhaps the most anti-Azerbaijani audience gathered. A whole chapel of hysteria from the Armenian, French and other performers arrived in Tunis for a reunion. What unites them is the countries that once were under the protectorate of France and today welcome Francophonie. So, the remnants of the colonial past are all in one set. Accordingly, the factor of the Armenian lobby is very strong in these countries - it is almost a given, considering how much Paris values and honours the Armenian diaspora in its country, especially among its electoral votes. The subtext, therefore, is obvious.

As for Azerbaijan, it owes the Francophone clique nothing but troubles: most of the countries of this community have adopted the probably most biased decisions against our republic and history, ever since Azerbaijan established diplomatic ties with Western countries. These include the recent resolution of the French Senate condemning the fictional "aggression" of Azerbaijan against Armenia in September this year, and the local recognition two years earlier by the same French Upper House of the Armenian separatist stump in Karabakh, with the parliaments of two more French-speaking countries - Belgium and Luxembourg – chasing after Paris.

However, the resolutions that were unpleasant for our country were local and absolutely formal - the foreign ministries of the same countries disassociated themselves from them in all possible ways. Nevertheless, as they say, the fact of political posturing is evident and Baku cannot and should not simply turn a blind eye to this.

The Armenian trooper traveled to the event in Tunisia to show his best. On the right and on the left of Armenia are like-minded states that are obsessed with Armenian interests. And Yerevan’s plans were global - almost all of Pashinyan’s Velvet cabinet, convinced of their triumph, went to the summit. Prime Minister Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Mirzoyan distinguished themselves from the Azerbaijanophobic wing with their "vivid" speeches in which they, as predicted, accused Baku of all kinds of deadly sins, including of a fictitious "aggression" against Armenia and the "violation of its territorial integrity".

As a result, the Francophonie summit, held in Tunis, adopted a number of concluding documents, including those relating to security within the organization. In the resolution titled "On crisis situations in the Francophonie area, their overcoming and consolidation of peace", the organization calls upon the parties, together with international partners, to take measures to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement with respect for the norms of international law, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. So, basically, they discussed everything but also talked about almost nothing.    

Meanwhile, Ilham Aliyev did note that a dirty provocation against Azerbaijan was planned at the Forum of Francophonie. 

"The author of this provocation was France, which now patronizes Armenia", the president said. The original version of the resolution was based solely on anti-Azerbaijani theses and completely contradicted reality. However, here too, according to the head of state, Azerbaijan has found allies.

"Thanks to the efforts of our friends from Francophonie, whom we know well, all the anti-Azerbaijani theses were removed. The Franco-Armenian tandem failed to seize the opportunity. That is, it shows how much our authority in international organizations and our policies at the international level are valued. Because we always approach every case responsibly. There is no difference between our word and our signature", the president assured.

Within certain limits, Ilham Aliyev even shared some secrets, how and thanks to what such international authority is being achieved. And it must be said that this is not what Armenia is using to expand its influence in the world. As is known, Armenian separatists and extremists do not abhor international terrorism and Islamophobia.

In general, Yerevan should record and study the revelations of Aliyev.

"We prioritize the principles of cooperation and friendship in our concept of foreign policy and provide assistance to countries in need, where possible, just as we provided humanitarian and financial assistance to more than 80 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a big undertaking. Of course, decent behavior in the international arena earned us additional respect", President Aliyev noted.

A significant international authority has helped Azerbaijan to secure its other positions, particularly in the CIS (post-Soviet) region. For example, Baku managed to erase all of Armenia’s initiatives in the CSTO, where it has been trying to antagonize the CSTO member states for years. However, all accusations against Baku of "aggression" and other things have had the opposite effect: the member-states of the bloc are becoming closer to Azerbaijan and increasingly do not accept the position of Armenia, having understood the dirty implication of its intrigues.

As President Aliyev emphasized, "we have more friends in the CSTO than Armenia". This is despite the fact that Azerbaijan is not a member of this organization while Armenia is a member of it. So, in essence, with these words, the president outlined the reasons for Baku’s successful political strategy.

Ilham Aliyev also mentioned that through the CSTO, Armenia intended to make unfounded claims against Azerbaijan and actually wanted to push the countries of the bloc against Azerbaijan. But things didn’t go as Yerevan had planned.

"[...] the other members of this organization did not accept this provocation. And some have put Armenia in such a position in their speeches that Armenia to this day can’t forget this", Aliyev said humorously, most probably hinting at the rebuke made by Belarusian President Lukashenko to Pashinyan. The Armenian Prime Minister was publicly found to be falsifying and in an endless search for benefits. It was an embarrassment and a real public flogging for the head of state. Lukashenko then literally on his fingers explained to Pashinyan the unconstructivity of the former's calls for condemnation.

It is surprising, however, how small-minded a government leader has to be not to see that the trade turnover of CSTO member Belarus with Azerbaijan is almost ten times higher than the turnover of trade with Armenia, and in general relations between our countries are built on a highly friendly and trusting basis. To this, we can add the military cooperation of Minsk and Baku, to which Yerevan crawls and crawls - Armenia simply does not have the money to buy such weapons from Belarus, and therefore following, a reason for cooperation.

Kazakhstan and Russia also are in the CSTO, who do not quarrel with Azerbaijan. Especially Astana, which shares a common historical past with Baku and strategic partnership, in particular the transit transport cooperation, and transportation of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan and Türkiye to Europe, which are extremely important for Astana now when Russia is finding itself under pressure from sanctions.

The ties between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are no less extensive and multifaceted. It is also possible to add a factor of Turkic unity with a specific strategy of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which Yerevan simply has nothing to counter to, remaining in isolation.

Precise recipes of political art were also presented by President Aliyev at this masterclass, such as why Yerevan’s deceitful policy is so bad on the international stage. Rarely does anyone explain in detail why a strategy of political hypocrisy is bound to fail.

Ilham Aliyev also explained why Azerbaijan has more friends in the CSTO organization than Armenia, namely because of the special policy of our country and because "we are partners in trust".

"Why is the attitude towards Armenia negative? Because they lie everywhere and there are no more doors to solve the problem, wherever they turn. All this is obvious, everyone sees it, everyone knows it", said the head of state.

Political authority is also important for pushing out its positions. And in this, the authority of Azerbaijan is much more important than that of Yerevan. 

Ilham Aliyev also said that Azerbaijan’s international positions have been strengthened lately. He recalled that Azerbaijan became the first country in the CIS area to be elected a member of the UN Security Council with the support of 155 countries.

The President also noted on the fact that Azerbaijan was elected Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2019 by the unanimous decision of 120 countries, and later thanks to its successful chairmanship its term was extended for another year.

At the same time, our country successfully works within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organization of Turkic States and other major associations, which also shapes its international authority.

In summarizing what Ilham Aliyev has stated, it is probably worth noting that a positive image and special trust in a country is formed as a solid wall, made of special bricks, each of which is a separate strategic success of the state. And with this, unlike the adventures of Yerevan and other enemies, we experience no difficulties.

Caliber.Az