President Aliyev’s visit to Germany to enhance partnership with Europe A win-win situation for Azerbaijan

On March 13, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev officially visited Germany to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The visit came a week after Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited Berlin amid Moscow-Yerevan diplomatic rifts. While Moscow's relations with South Caucasus partners – Azerbaijan and Armenia are gradually deteriorating, the leading EU member countries like Germany and France seek to exacerbate their influence by boosting their role in the peace process between Baku-Yerevan.

However, the stalled peace negotiations over the Karabakh region and Azerbaijan's frequent criticism of France for its anti-Azerbaijani stance also undermine the relevance of the Brussels negotiations format.

Another scale of criticism occurred during PM Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Berlin when Chancellor Scholtz made an inaccurate statement regarding Karabakh by mentioning the right "for self-determination of ethnic Armenians," which outraged Azerbaijan. Moreover, the Armenian media replicated the statement of Scholz in a different form. The Armenian media noted that the Chancellor allegedly attaches great importance to achieving a peaceful solution "from the point of view of the rights of the so-called "citizens" of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh" to "self-determination".

Although this statement was later deleted from the Chancellor's official website, it raised eyebrows in Baku. Nevertheless, President Ilham Aliyev, during his most recent visit to Berlin, clearly emphasized the country's stance on Karabakh, underlining that Azerbaijan will not retreat from its position. Surprisingly, during the joint press conference, the German Chancellor stated that Germany doesn’t recognize "Nagorno-Karabakh" as a republic.

From PM Nikol Pashinyan’s point of view, Armenia is the only regional state in South Caucasus that is tied with Western liberal democratic values and surrounded by "rogue states". In this vein, Pashinyan's trip to Berlin and his later speech at the German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP) based on groundless accusations that “Azerbaijan perpetrates the ethnic cleansing in Karabakh,” or “Azerbaijan-Türkiye tandem seeks expansion in the region at the expense of Armenia's sovereignty". Considering the long-term tradition of the Armenian authorities of torpedoing the peace process since 2020, such statements of the Armenian leader should not come as a surprise.

Considering the pragmatic pattern of German foreign policy, it is no surprise that Berlin seeks further strengthening relations with energy-rich Azerbaijan, particularly at a time of global security cataclysms caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In light of the deepening security crisis, Azerbaijan swiftly ensured itself as a reliable partner of the EU, particularly in the energy field, by boosting the exports of natural gas to Europe as it seeks to replace Russian fossil fuels promptly. Hence, Aliyev in Berlin stated that Azerbaijan would supply gas to Albania, Montenegro, the Czech Republic and Hungary in the coming years. Azerbaijan's growing engagement in the EU's energy affairs and ability to comply with the recent agreements perfectly suits the interests of European nations, including Germany. Germany is one of the most important actors in the European Union due to its political and economic significance and industrial and innovation potential, among other things.

Azerbaijan heavily invests to become a regional hub for digital and innovation, including green energy technology. As such, Azerbaijani interests are dictated by the obvious importance of Germany in the system of international relations, its role in the EU and the country's economic capabilities. As a result of the mutual partnership, the German Chancellor announced that Nokia, a well-known digital innovation company, will soon establish a regional office in Baku to oversee its business operations in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Energy and green energy-related matters were one of the topics of discussion between President Aliyev and various business and government representatives of Germany. During the meeting with business representatives, President Aliyev said Azerbaijan plans to transform Nakhchivan into a green energy zone, along with Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur. He also added that expanding a pipeline system capacity would be carried out as a response to growing energy demand in Europe.

Azerbaijan enjoyed the benefits of a recent partnership with Germany in the transition to green energy sources enabled by established contacts with the local German business. Hence, President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Germany promises to lead to positive developments for both nations, as both Azerbaijan and Germany are operating on liberal values in their foreign policies.