Azerbaijan — Belarus: Against external interference and globalist diktat

On February 19, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, received the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Natalia Kochanova.

A visit to a friendly country

Natalia Kochanova conveyed the greetings of the President of Belarus to the leader of Azerbaijan. Ilham Aliyev thanked her and asked to send his greetings to Alexander Lukashenko. There are not only officially friendly relations but also good personal ties between the two heads of state.

Kochanova mentioned that it was her first visit to Azerbaijan. She was deeply impressed by the development processes in Baku.

During the meeting, significant attention was given to the growing cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus. A key factor in this development was the state visit of the President of Belarus to Azerbaijan last year. Relations between the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Belarus are also developing at a high level. Natalia Kochanova presented the President of Azerbaijan with a commemorative gift.

The meeting between President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of Belarus, Natalia Kochanova, marked yet another milestone on the path of friendship and cooperation that both countries are currently following.

At the same time, the stay of the Belarusian parliamentary delegation in Baku was quite eventful. On February 18, the Belarusian deputies, led by Natalia Kochanova, met with the Chairperson of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova, who emphasized that Alexander Lukashenko became the first leader of a non-Muslim country to visit the liberated Karabakh.

The leading newspaper of Belarus, Belarus Segodnya, reported the following details about the visit:

"On February 18, Natalia Kochanova and other members of the Belarusian parliamentary delegation visited the Alley of Martyrs, where they paid tribute to the heroic sons who gave their lives for the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Flowers were laid on their graves, and a wreath was placed at the memorial complex 'Eternal Flame.'

The Belarusian parliamentary delegation, led by Natalia Kochanova, also honoured the memory of the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, at the Alley of Honor. The delegation laid a wreath at the grave of the great leader. The parliamentarians also paid respects to the outstanding ophthalmologist academician Zarifa Aliyeva and honoured the memory of the renowned singer, People's Artist of Azerbaijan and the USSR, Muslim Magomayev, who is also buried at the Alley of Honor. Additionally, the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic visited the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku."

Respect for national sovereignty and integrity 

The relationship between Baku and Minsk today has a highly positive dynamic. At the same time, the state visit of Alexander Lukashenko to Baku in May 2024 was truly significant and productive for both sides. During that visit, the Belarusian delegation in Baku signed 20 trade and economic agreements with Azerbaijan. However, it’s not just about the economic aspect. First and foremost, that visit was a demonstration of the special trust and cooperation that has developed between the two countries and their leaders.

However, not everyone is pleased with this. Among the ranks of the Belarusian nationalist opposition in exile and in some other circles, the friendship between Belarus and Azerbaijan causes a great deal of discontent. For example, regarding Alexander Lukashenko’s visit to the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan last year, some Armenian nationalist media and a so-called "Russo-Artsakh Friendship Society" made various angry insinuations. Even his sincere lament over the fate of the "long-suffering" statue of Bülbül, the palace of poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan, and the Shusha mosque caused outrage. Some Armenian media even sent a request to the CSTO Secretariat, questioning how the leader of a member state could greet the return of Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Belarus has always genuinely advocated for the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict, based on negotiations and the supremacy of international law. Belarusian media and politicians have refrained from any negative rhetoric or hostile démarches against Armenia and have never told Yerevan which countries it could or could not be friends with.

Parliamentary Asia

Another important event in which the official Belarusian delegation participated was the 15th session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) in Baku. The session was solemnly opened on February 19 under the presidency of Azerbaijan. Representatives from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Indonesia, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, Tajikistan, the UAE, Oman, Thailand, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan took part in the opening ceremony. 

Natalia Kochanova, representing Belarus, also spoke at the event. She emphasized that while a multipolar world may not resolve all problems, it can make a significant contribution to ensuring the sovereign rights of states. The head of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament said: "It is necessary to develop a common strategy to prevent foreign interference in the internal affairs of states, both for the present and for future generations. We consider it extremely important to build an indivisible and just world in the 21st century." She further stressed that one of the attributes of independence is the right of national states to conduct their own elections and proposed to enshrine electoral sovereignty in the international legal framework. In Natalia Kochanova’s view, the observer mission of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly can play a special role in this regard.

At the 15th session of the APA, alongside Natalia Kochanova, the Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, Vadim Ipatov, and the chairpersons and members of four standing committees of the Belarusian parliament also participated. In Baku, practical and economic issues were also discussed. According to the head of the working group of the National Assembly of Belarus for cooperation with Azerbaijan, Mikhail Rusy, cooperation between the two countries could be promising in sectors such as petrochemicals, fertilizer production, pharmaceuticals, energy, woodworking, footwear, and light industry, as well as in the agribusiness sector. Belarus has already faced significant climate warming, making cooperation with Azerbaijan on the cultivation of heat-loving plants even more relevant. For Azerbaijan’s agriculture, the Gomel Chemical Plant and the Belarusian Potash Company are ready to supply their products.

Traditionally hospitable Baku once again became a platform for cooperation between representatives of various countries. In Azerbaijan, the Belarusian delegation met with the heads of the delegations from Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Russia, and the UAE, as well as held other bilateral meetings. In October of last year, Belarus submitted an application to join the Asian Parliamentary Assembly as an observer, and during this session, the republic was accepted into the APA. Thus, Belarus is now included in all major regional inter-parliamentary structures.

This opens new prospects for strengthening cooperation across Eurasia and establishing a new, multipolar world. In the vision of its future architecture, Minsk and Baku have much in common. Both sides share alignment on all key issues regarding global events and value-based approaches. Therefore, the Baku Declaration, adopted on February 20 at the 15th session of the APA, fully reflects the Republic of Belarus' perspective on establishing a new, more just global order. In this direction, Baku and Minsk will always move forward together, supporting each other.

Moreover, both Azerbaijan and Belarus, while being in Europe, serve as "gates to Asia" for the continent. This creates both economic benefits and additional challenges from global players. Therefore, mutual solidarity in defending sovereign rights becomes crucial. It is no coincidence that both Belarus and Azerbaijan pay great attention to international guarantees of national independence for all countries worldwide. The rejection of external interference and globalist diktat is a priority in the foreign policies of both the countries and their leaders.