Azerbaijani pundit: Brussels Meeting could call into question efforts to restore peace in South Caucasus

Azerbaijani political scientist Farhad Mammadov, head of the Centre for South Caucasus Studies, highlights the belated acknowledgment by the West of Azerbaijan's stance on regional processes, particularly in light of Secretary Blinken's recent call to President Aliyev ahead of the Brussels Meeting.

"Secretary Blinken's call to the President of Azerbaijan ahead of the Brussels Meeting with the participation of the US Secretary of State, the EU High Commissioner and the Armenian Prime Minister demonstrates the West's belated acknowledgment that it is counterproductive to ignore Azerbaijan's position on processes in the region,” Caliber.Az quotes Mammadov as saying on his Telegram channel.

According to Mammadov, the West's reaction is belated and the Secretary of State's assertion that the "Brussels conspiracy" is not directed against Azerbaijan is not credible.

“Armenia does not agree to remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan in its legislation, does not agree to close the representative office of the separatist entity on its territory, does not agree to liberate border villages... And in these conditions, providing unprecedented support to the country that has kept the territory of Azerbaijan under occupation for 25 years, and after 2020 demonstrated an unwillingness to come to terms with reality, preventing in every possible way the reintegration of Karabakh into Azerbaijan, cannot be considered in cold blood in Baku,” the political scientist noted.

Mammadov notes that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has clearly and unambiguously expressed Azerbaijan's position, diagnosing the Brussels Meeting.

“According to President Ilham Aliyev, the non-transparent preparation of the US-European Union-Armenia trilateral meeting scheduled for April 5, its non-inclusive nature and the fact that it was not postponed, despite Azerbaijan’s fair comments, will not lead to peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus, and the emergence of dividing lines and, ultimately, tension. Thus, the West, through unilateral, Armenian-centric actions, is pushing the region into the abyss of instability and increased tension.

It is clear that after the announcement on April 5 of the full volume of the declared assistance to Armenia, the West will try to provide greater physical access to Armenia. This can only be done by opening the border between Armenia and Türkiye," he believes.

According to Mammadov, it is safe to note that such proposals are already being made to official Ankara, after 5 April the pressure on Ankara will only increase.

“The West already performed this trick in 2009 through full support of the Zurich Protocols. However, the principled position of President Ilham Aliyev and President of Türkiye Recep Erdogan put an end to this process. The West will continue to strive to separate these processes, which should take place in parallel.

Closed borders with Türkiye and ignoring Armenia in regional projects are the only sanctions that Azerbaijan has implemented against the aggressor country. And these sanctions will continue until the set goals are achieved.

It is more important for Türkiye to take Azerbaijan's opinion into account than to agree under Western pressure to open the Armenian-Turkish border without a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The President of Türkiye has repeatedly said that "the world is bigger than five!" and has devoted his entire political life to proving this statement. In 2020, Azerbaijan and Turkey together proved that "the world is bigger than five!" and should not give in to outside pressure. And the world will not understand when, after such a close alliance, the Turkish leadership suddenly decides to take such a step without taking into account the opinion of Azerbaijan....

Western pressure in the region is increasing, and this is setting in motion regional forces that will respond to such brazen behaviour. "Brussels Meeting" may call into question all efforts to restore peace and stability in the South Caucasus. However, there is a way out of the situation, namely taking into account the just demands and interests of Azerbaijan. The West has all the opportunities for this, let's see if the West implements these opportunities... The principled position of Azerbaijan and Türkiye can only contribute to the West's initiatives in the region to transform from destructive to constructive direction," he stressed.