Friends amidst geopolitical storm Baku and Budapest strengthen their bond

In today’s turbulent geopolitical landscape—marked by frequent violations of international law and leaders who proclaim themselves as “first” yet fail to honour their commitments—the relationship between Baku and Budapest stands out as a powerful example for the world. It demonstrates that mutual understanding, genuine friendship, and a strategic partnership are not only possible but essential. More importantly, it reflects a shared vision of the world—one where decisions are guided first and foremost by the interests of the people and the state.

Therefore, there is nothing spontaneous about the fact that, emphasising in his press statement on May 20 following negotiations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the successful development of Azerbaijani-Hungarian relations, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, called the two countries “friendly nations” and “strategic partners.” Following this, the head of state paid special attention to the fact that Hungary is one of the few countries pursuing an independent policy. As the president specified, although “there are many rules, many established principles, and the common foreign policy of the European Union is naturally one of the principles. Nevertheless, my friend Victor Orbán has always put the state and national interests of Hungary above everything else. We applaud this.”

Let us agree that President Ilham Aliyev’s clarification in this regard is more important now than ever before. This is because we see how certain biased forces try to pressure countries that defend their path towards strengthening national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Yet both Baku and Budapest stand firmly on the line of protecting the interests of their citizens and states. Moreover, this stance has its own history, which brings to mind President Ilham Aliyev’s position stated back in 2006, when he declared that, regarding “our national interests, we will not make concessions to anyone.” This is a “matter of paramount importance,” and, furthermore, “our experience and our policy show that, alongside the full protection of national interests, it is entirely possible to establish mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries. We see this in the example of Azerbaijan.”

Let us agree that, in the context of Azerbaijani-Hungarian relations, what President Aliyev has articulated is being realised in a way that serves as a remarkable example for the whole world: countries that confidently defend their national interests are successfully building their relations across various fields — confidently, clearly, and with a long-term vision. As we see, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s approach to Budapest’s policy is essentially in harmony with what our head of state declared in 2022, when he emphasised that “as president, I will defend national interests and our state independence to the very end.”

Over the past few years, we have witnessed Orbán’s steps in this direction, including his active participation in COP29. At the same time, one recalls Viktor Orbán’s congratulations to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when the Turkish leader secured the highest number of votes in the first round of the recent presidential election and advanced to the second round — despite nearly all leading European Union countries backing the Turkish opposition.

At the same time, today President Ilham Aliyev notably pointed out that “there are many similarities between Azerbaijan and Hungary. First, our historical roots. I know that the Hungarian people are very attached to their historical roots.” We can agree that this brilliant observation invites a special perspective on the fact that Budapest kindly opened its doors for the informal summit of the member states of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS).

As is well known, Hungary has been an observer in the OTS since 2018, which gives particular weight to the president’s words and allows us to view his remarks during his 2024 inauguration speech from a special angle, when he called the Organization a priority for Baku because “our family is the Turkic world. We feel perfectly fine there. We have brotherly relations with all countries that are members of the Organisation of Turkic States, and our policy is to solidify the Organisation of Turkic States.”

To elaborate, Ilham Aliyev described the OTS as “a vast geography, an extensive territory, a large military prowess, a substantial economy, natural resources, transportation routes, a young and growing population, and peoples from the same roots.” We can agree that President Ilham Aliyev’s emphasis in Budapest on the many similarities between Hungary and Azerbaijan, especially regarding the special attention to “our historical roots,” speaks for itself.

And if we add to this what Viktor Orbán said during the informal OTS summit in Shusha (summer 2024) — that Budapest regards the Organization of Turkic States as “extremely important for cooperation between the West and the East” — then the special climate surrounding both the bilateral Azerbaijani-Hungarian relations and the cooperation within the Organization is seen from a particularly meaningful perspective.

By the way, at the 11th OTS summit, where Viktor Orbán was awarded the “Highest Order of the Turkic World” for his significant contribution to strengthening its unity, he announced Budapest’s initial steps toward fulfilling its commitment to contribute 100 million dollars to the Turkic Investment Fund. As he emphasised, “I very much hope that companies from the OTS will invest in Hungary for economic development and growth in our countries.”

At the same time, the Hungarian Prime Minister noted that in 2024, the OTS countries significantly increased their contribution to ensuring Hungary’s energy security. Hungary became the first country without a shared border with Türkiye to receive natural gas supplies from Türkiye, and also the first to receive gas from Azerbaijan.

That is why today we heard Viktor Orbán affirm that “A friend is known in times of need, and for more than 20 years, President Aliyev has always stood by our side during any difficulty Hungary has faced in any field — whether diplomacy, the oil and gas industry, or other areas.”

Undoubtedly, the mutual understanding between Budapest and Baku is a genuine testament to how countries located in different regions of the world can successfully develop their relations — and with a clear prospect for further progress in all areas.