Azerbaijan's independent peace formula in South Caucasus
No need for meddlers

INTERVIEWS  27 May 2024 - 12:24

As a result of the delimitation efforts, the 12.7 kilometres long borderline with Armenia was determined and the territories of four villages of Gazakh district were returned to Azerbaijan: Baghanis Ayrim, Ashagi Askipara, Kheyrimli and Gizilhajili (6.5 square kilometres). On May 24, the territories of these villages passed under the control of Azerbaijan’s State Border Service without a single shot being fired.

Caliber.Az journalist asked foreign political analysts how they assess foreign countries' perception of Baku's success in returning its villages.

Thus, according to Rostislav Goltsman, an Israeli journalist and publicist, head of the International Relations Commission of the Union of Journalists of Israel, the return of Azerbaijani villages by Armenia is, of course, a very happy event and allows us to conclude that Yerevan is already returning to the European orbit, not the French one. And this is not the same thing at all. Since one of the principles of EU cooperation is "zero problems with neighbours". And Armenia needs to take these rules into account in reality.

“I am glad that Armenia has begun to realise that it is better to negotiate with Baku amicably. Meanwhile, while building its strategy, Baku already understood perfectly well that the most correct way is to rely only on itself, on direct dialogue between the two sides, without any well-wishers and mediators, whose efforts may lead the negotiations in a completely different direction. In this context, I would like to recall Israel's similar experience in the liberation of the Negev in 1949. Immediately after the liberation, international mediators intervened and, forgetting that the Negev had previously been occupied by Egypt, began waving their hands and demanding the withdrawal of troops, promising that the status of these territories would be resolved through negotiations and international mediation. Israel firmly responded that it did not trust such "independent" mediators, who were not at all concerned about the occupation of Israeli lands, but that when Israel began to liberate its lands, for some reason these issues had to be resolved through negotiations. Then-Prime Minister Ben-Gurion clearly explained that Israel had already liberated its lands and would do without international mediators. And we can also recall the example of the Bosnians, who, until they themselves went on the attack, until they established the obviousness of their presence on the ground, for some reason nothing was solved within the framework of the negotiation process," the political scientist recalled.

And, of course, according to him, this is an important triumph of Azerbaijan's long and painstaking diplomatic work, which continued to influence Yerevan as correctly as possible, but exerting the necessary pressure, piercing its stubbornness with well-considered arguments.

"Ilham Aliyev is consistent and responsible in his statements and invariably demonstrates one thing - Azerbaijan necessarily brings what it has started to the end, to a victorious implementation. The return of Azerbaijani villages proves that Baku is exclusively in favour of peace in the region, built without aggression and violence, as a result of goodwill of both sides," Goltsman stressed.

Meanwhile, candidate of political sciences, Kazakh political scientist Sharip Ishmukhamedov, first of all congratulated the Azerbaijani people and President Ilham Aliyev on the brilliant bloodless diplomatic victory.

"This is the result of not just one year, but perhaps all thirty years, of trial and error methods, of the evolution of Azerbaijan's military and political strategy. Baku has demonstrated that such an approach is not only possible, but also extremely effective, it sets a high bar for the resolution of other disputes of this kind between states both regionally and globally. In this sense, it is also an important triumph of Ilham Aliyev's political strategy, who always acts in complex issues with an agenda of peace rather than war and force.

With the return of Gazakh's villages, Baku has reformatted Armenia’s inability to negotiate. I would like to believe that the entire Caucasus will become a region of peace, consensus and shrewd diplomatic solutions rather than a hot spot on the map. At the very least, Azerbaijan has shown that such a formula is achievable while disappointing greatly those who tried to destabilise the process of direct negotiations between Baku and Yerevan by interfering in it, introducing imbalance, as they pursued only their own interests. Such ambitious interested parties as France and other Western players have been completely out of the picture. Moreover, the entrance of all external well-wishers with destructive agenda to the South Caucasus is now definitely ordered," Ishmukhamedov added.

Caliber.Az