EU-Azerbaijan dialogue: for the sake of regional security Baku, Brussels take it to next level

The fourth meeting of the European Union (EU)-Azerbaijan Security Dialogue held in Brussels, during which important regional issues were discussed, revealed the mutual commitment of the parties to the peace agenda in the South Caucasus, which is impossible without the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

The discussion of such a relevant topic was attended by the ambassadors of the EU states, co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora and Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmat Hajiyev, which emphasized not only the mutual interest of the parties in possible cooperation in the fight against cyber - and hybrid threats, extremism and terrorism but also in a certain way testified to the failure of Armenian propaganda.

Another misfire of the Armenian political technologists is confirmed by the following facts. Firstly, the European Union reiterated that Azerbaijan is perceived by Europe as a reliable and irreplaceable partner in the Caucasus, with which it is worth building long-term relations not only in the trade, economic and energy spheres but also to maintain bilateral political dialogue in order to maintain stability and security in this strategically important, including for the EU, region.

Secondly, Europe is, apparently, finally beginning to understand that it is Azerbaijan that seeks to establish lasting peace in the region and maintain a stable regional situation. Actually, Enrique Mora confirmed this assumption with his statements, noting that the EU is ready to support the peace process, including in the trilateral Brussels format with the assistance of the European Council represented by its President Charles Michel.

In general, in the post-conflict period, Europe has become noticeably more active as a mediator, as evidenced by last year's rounds of talks under the auspices of the EU in Brussels and Prague between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Thirdly, it should be noted that the EU, which positions itself, among other things, as a mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations, understands and accepts the fact that, as a result of Azerbaijan's victory in the 44-day Karabakh war in 2020, a new reality has formed in the South Caucasus.

Without excessive optimism, one can say that Europe has come to the realization that the de-occupation of Azerbaijani lands is the factor that contributes to the prosperity and development of the region, which, in turn, is in the interests of not only Azerbaijan but also its partners.

With the beginning of the post-conflict period, Azerbaijan is actively reviving Karabakh, investing huge financial and human resources in this. Notably, there is a certain contribution of the European Union in this lard-scale work. As an example, the following can be cited: in October 2020, the EU provided humanitarian support to civilians affected by the Karabakh conflict, allocating funds in the amount of 500,000 euros. In addition, the EU within the framework of the Economic Investment has already allocated 90,000,000 euros to Azerbaijan out of a total amount of 2,000,000,000 euros.

In parallel, the EU supports the reforms being carried out by Azerbaijan, which was stated to journalists on May 3 by the head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko, assuring that the EU will be consistent in this direction in the future.

“The European Union supports the reforms in Azerbaijan and will continue to support them in the future. The EU is the main trading partner of Azerbaijan. Last year, the trade turnover between the EU and Azerbaijan doubled compared to 2021,” Mikhalko added.

This choice of Europe is accompanied by a number of factors. Firstly, Azerbaijan plays a key role in transporting energy resources to the EU market and remains an important energy partner of the EU, which is especially valuable for Europe in the current difficult geopolitical situation.

That is, it is obvious that the potential for bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU is quite impressive. However, along with this, a balanced approach of the EU to the current situation in the region is also important for Azerbaijan, especially in light of recent events related to the installation of a border checkpoint in Lachin.

Therefore, it is not surprising that within the framework of the event in Brussels, the ambassadors of the EU states were provided with detailed information on the situation in the region in order to outline the contours of security in the South Caucasus in view of the unconstructive position of Armenia even in the post-conflict period.

In this vein, the installation of the checkpoint in the Lachin district helps to reduce tension in the region and assumes its minimization in the foreseeable future. Incidentally, given the active anti-Azerbaijani activities of the influential Armenian lobby in the European Parliament, the support of its European partners will not be superfluous for Baku.

However, the increased lobbying of Armenian interests by the European Parliament does not particularly affect the foreign policy of the EU. No matter how Armenia counts on it...

On the contrary, the growing interest of the EU in the region, especially now, when the United States is becoming more active in the negotiations between Baku and Yerevan, suggests that the European politicians are closely following the South Caucasian agenda, and not only for the sake of economic expediency but to strengthen the political dialogue with Baku, which has shown itself to be a supporter of peace and security in the South Caucasus.

In this regard, the EU-Azerbaijan Security Dialogue, which unequivocally brought the dynamics of relations between the parties to a new qualitative level, is a clear confirmation of this.