COP29 and victory over intrigues Azerbaijan’s success is indisputable

US President Joe Biden congratulated Azerbaijan as the chair of COP29 for achieving an important result at last week's climate conference. " While there is still substantial work ahead of us to achieve our climate goals, today’s outcome puts us one significant step closer," Biden emphasized in his statement, published on the White House website.

The outgoing US president spoke the truth, but a reasonable question arises: what is Washington's and Biden's personal contribution to what happened? The answer is clear: zero. Yes, once again we are witnessing a situation where Azerbaijan achieves truly historic decisions not because of, but despite the position of the Global North.

A similar scenario unfolded with the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. As is well known, the European Union and the US refused to offer financial support for advancing the project, citing its bypass of Armenia as the primary reason. Yet Azerbaijan found the necessary resources to bring the project to life. In fact, it was largely Azerbaijan that financed the project’s realization.

The European Union now refers to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway as a key element in the transportation network connecting the South Caucasus region with the EU. The United States emphasizes its importance for Europe’s energy security and the integration of Europe and Asia. This is a perfect illustration of how the US and the EU are willing to "change their tune" in midair, attempting to highlight their role in an issue they did little, if anything, to resolve, to put it mildly.

The same can be said about the far more important issue of Azerbaijan's full restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity. The US and France, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, not only failed to assist in achieving a fair resolution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, but actively obstructed it. In 1992, the US passed the disgraceful Section 907 amendment, which, in essence, represented a unique example of hypocrisy by imposing sanctions on the victim of occupation.

Even after the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions, the US did not impose sanctions on Armenia for ignoring them. Moreover, the US continued to provide annual financial assistance to the Karabakh junta. The Armenian lobby in the United States has consistently worked against Azerbaijan. Yet despite all this, Azerbaijan achieved victory in the 44-day war and subsequently conducted a one-day anti-terrorist operation in the Karabakh region, fully restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

These accomplishments were achieved despite the stance of Macron's France. As is well known, the French president made repeated calls to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, spreading fake news from Armenian propaganda. In essence, he went to great lengths to support Armenia. After the 44-day war, the French Senate made the disgraceful decision to recognize the "independence" of the so-called "Artsakh." This was, as many have observed, a futile effort. Azerbaijan succeeded in fulfilling its historic task despite the barriers that official Paris attempted to erect.

It is also worth noting that France’s Minister for Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate, and Hazard Prevention, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, did not attend COP29. Her justification is revealing. In a post on social media, she explained that the decision not to attend was made "after discussion and in agreement with the president of the republic and the prime minister."

While Macron’s actions have been widely criticized, the current French prime minister is also known for his strong pro-Armenian stance—so much so that he was declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan for illegally visiting the previously occupied territories of the country. Given this context, Agnès Pannier-Runacher’s excuse appears hollow. Once again, Macron’s inability to separate personal biases from global issues was evident. The key takeaway is that France’s boycott had no impact on the historic decisions made at COP29, which were reached despite the absence of US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from Baku.

A dirty campaign of disinformation was launched against Azerbaijan and COP29. Prominent in this effort was the so-called environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who only reinforced her image as a manufactured and controlled figure used for political purposes by her handlers. These same individuals were behind the spread of lies and falsehoods about COP29 and Azerbaijan in the global media. And where are they now? Where is Thunberg, Ocampo, and the other defenders of the arrested leaders of the Karabakh junta? They played their petty roles and are now irrelevant, left out of the process.

It’s also worth noting that pro-Armenian US congressmen, including Frank Pallone, arrived in Baku. This was another part of the campaign to undermine COP29 and discredit its work. In addition, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who attended the climate summit in Baku, made completely unacceptable comments regarding Azerbaijan's internal political situation. Her presence at COP29 did not contribute in any meaningful way to the historic decisions that were made.

Meanwhile, the decisions were made. At COP29, a resolution was adopted to ensure the full operation of the Loss and Damage Fund, a development eagerly awaited by countries in the Global South, including small island states, least-developed countries, and African nations. This decision reflects the priority set by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who emphasized the importance of addressing the impacts of climate change on small island nations during Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of COP29.

To date, the total amount of financial support pledged to the Fund exceeds $730 million. Thanks to these achievements, the Fund will be able to start financing projects as early as 2025. This is a significant accomplishment for Azerbaijan in its role as chair of COP29.

Additionally, a new climate goal was adopted at the final plenary session of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29). According to the agreement, a target of jointly mobilizing $100 billion annually for climate action from developed countries to developing nations will be established, to reach at least $300 billion by 2035. The agreement reached at COP29 lays the foundation for further steps in the fight against climate change, as emphasized by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his statement. He also expressed gratitude to the government of Azerbaijan and COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev.

Currently, there are other expressions of gratitude directed towards Azerbaijan, which flawlessly organized COP29 and created the conditions for adopting truly historic decisions crucial for all of humanity. Once again, Azerbaijan succeeded in overcoming resistance from the Global North. This ability to achieve global solutions and historic decisions, even in the face of opposition from leading world powers, is what makes Azerbaijan unique.