Reevaluating Azerbaijani-Ukrainian relations A complex landscape

Recently, an intriguing trend has been observed in Azerbaijani-Ukrainian relations. Despite the generally positive backdrop of bilateral interactions, Ukrainian diplomats, even in private discussions with Azerbaijani journalists, have voiced dissatisfaction with Azerbaijan's purported lack of adequate support for Ukraine. "Yes, we are grateful to Azerbaijan for its humanitarian aid, but we expect more" - this sentiment encapsulates the demanding and dissatisfied remarks directed at official Baku.

To some extent, the emotionality of the Ukrainian side is understandable given the severe challenges they face. The nation is embroiled in a brutal war, with daily fierce battles across an extensive front line, marked by the tragic loss of soldiers from both sides. Ukraine's energy infrastructure is being systematically dismantled, an area in which Azerbaijan is actively assisting with reconstruction efforts, despite Moscow's overt displeasure.

War is a tragedy, and as a nation that has experienced aggression and occupation, we sympathise with the people of Ukraine more than anyone else. After all, our war lasted intermittently for more than thirty years. But before accusing the country of "insufficient support", it would be more honest to go back in time and remember how Ukraine supported Azerbaijan during our war and whether it supported Azerbaijan at all.

Let us recall that Ukraine - in practical terms - did nothing to support Azerbaijan during the occupation of its sovereign territories by Armenia. Yes, in the 90s of the last century, against the background of shortage of arms and ammunition, our army fought with Ukrainian weapons. But Baku bought these weapons from Kyiv for quite real money, it was not selfless help - our country paid the bill to the last penny. But Ukrainian MPs in PACE often voted in favour of anti-Azerbaijani resolutions, as it happened, for example, in 2017. And then these Ukrainian parliamentarians would throw up their hands when asked how this could have happened.

In addition, representatives of the Ukrainian media travelled to Karabakh occupied by Armenia on more than one occasion. We will not go far for examples. For example, the editor of the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya (Today), Iryna Kovalchuk, stated that after the publication of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's "black list" she was ready to visit Karabakh, which was occupied by Armenians at the time. We present a list of Ukrainian journalists who illegally visited Armenian separatists in Karabakh.

Furthermore, there were instances when official Kyiv remained conspicuously silent on the issue of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Given the expressions of discontent through diplomatic channels and "heartfelt" conversations with Azerbaijani journalists, it is pertinent to disclose a fact shared by our diplomats: during the 44-day Patriotic War, Kyiv did not respond to calls from Baku. When the Armenian army launched rockets targeting civilians in Tartar, Barda, and Ganja, not a single statement of condemnation was issued by official Kyiv regarding these egregious acts of state-level terrorism.

You will agree that this is nothing to brag about. However, Azerbaijan did not even think of complaining about Ukraine's indifferent attitude to its problems. Moreover, understanding the difficult situation in which Ukraine found itself two and a half years ago and its total dependence on Western aid, Azerbaijan, with a broken heart, turns a blind eye to some of Kyiv's pro-Armenian acts - such as, for example, the visit of Oleksandr Senchenko, the Ukraine's charge d'affaires to Armenia, to the conditional border with Azerbaijan during the "humanitarian crisis" in Karabakh artificially inflated by Armenian propagandists last summer.

Over the past few years and up to the present day, the Ukrainian media have been full of insinuations aimed at attributing Azerbaijan to a conventional "axis of evil" for the reason that, you see, Baku and Moscow have a common opinion on certain issues of international policy and meet at various international platforms, for example, at the SCO summits.

We have not made a fire out of this because we understand that Ukraine is resolving its issues with the help of the West and cannot but follow its instructions. In the context of a bloody war for statehood, Ukraine is forced to sacrifice, as it sees it, a little for more. This may irritate us in some places, but we do not make a big deal out of it, again because we realise that Ukraine does not owe us anything in principle.

So realise that we do not owe you anything either. Forgive us our scrupulousness, but here, however, it is worth emphasising that Azerbaijan has never been seen in unfriendly acts towards Kyiv (compare with Ukraine's actions mentioned above).

And despite all this, Azerbaijan is doing everything in its power to help the Ukrainian people in this situation. Our country recognises the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Moreover, Baku sends tons of humanitarian aid to that country, including medicines, fuel and electricity generators, and receives Ukrainian children from the war zone. However, in all likelihood, our Ukrainian friends believe that this is not enough and we should declare Russia an enemy in the name of Ukraine.

But let us pose this question: why should we? Azerbaijan did not declare Russia an enemy even when Moscow, blindly supporting the "Karabakh clan" in Armenia, perpetuated the Armenian occupation of Karabakh and sought to indefinitely maintain the notorious status quo.

Azerbaijan refrained from becoming Russia's adversary even as it actively armed Armenia during the 44 days of the Second Karabakh War. Nor did we declare Moscow an enemy after our victory in that war, despite the Kremlin's insistence on discussing the "status of Karabakh," effectively challenging Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Moreover, Azerbaijan did not become Russia's enemy when the military contingent of the Republic of Armenia and local illegal armed groups, subordinate to the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, conducted exercises on Azerbaijani territory right under the noses of Russian peacekeepers.

That is, Azerbaijan did not turn Russia into an enemy even when its actions went against our interests. It just painstakingly carried out its work - bringing the positions of global and regional players in the region closer together, sometimes bargaining with them, and sometimes acting tough and lightning fast, and creating realities on the ground that all regional players had to put up with and accept, albeit sometimes reluctantly.

Baku took advantage of, and at times created such a geopolitical reality, in which its actions to restore territorial integrity exceeded the ability of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries to counter it with anything serious. This is called strategic thinking, and we call on Ukrainian politicians and diplomats, instead of expressing offence inappropriately, to address precisely the strategic issues of preserving and strengthening Ukrainian statehood.