The logic of responsibility and strength Key takeaways from the Azerbaijani President’s address

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has a truly unique ability to place emphasis in his speeches—whether they are delivered domestically or on the international stage. The subtle genius lies in the fact that his addresses are consistently rooted in the defence of the country’s national interests. At the same time, his approach to implementing this principle is creative: he never repeats himself, each time directing the attention of all interested parties to the aspects most relevant to the specific historical moment.

This is why the President’s address on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year was especially powerful. First and foremost, he highlighted how successful 2025 was for the Azerbaijani people in terms of peace, security, and stability, while emphasising the role of unity—the unity of the people and the government—as the key factor behind the achievements. He then expressed confidence that 2026 would also be a successful year, as all tasks facing Azerbaijan will continue to be accomplished, just as before.

We know very well: the words of President Ilham Aliyev are never divorced from action. Therefore, there is not the slightest doubt that what he has said will be put into practice. Moreover—and this deserves special attention—the head of state initially outlined a paradigm of strength. However, this goes far beyond a purely military context.

The key focus was on the combat readiness of the Armed Forces and ensuring the country’s security. This is no coincidence: we are witnessing international law being systematically undermined, while the norms and rules of global coexistence are ignored by those who only yesterday claimed to be their main architects.

In this context, President Aliyev reminded the world of the Azerbaijani people’s outstanding victory in the 2020 Patriotic War, calling it historic. And yes, he spoke to the world—even though, formally, his address was directed at a domestic audience. It is well understood that every speech of the head of state is carefully analysed beyond Azerbaijan’s borders. That is why he also highlighted the steps taken by official Baku in recent years to significantly strengthen Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces. As the President emphasised, “Equipped with modern weapons and advanced military hardware, our Army is now fully capable of successfully carrying out any assigned mission,” and “we must always be ready to defend our territorial integrity, sovereignty, and the choices we have made.”

What is truly unique—there is no other way to describe it—is the emphasis President Aliyev placed on defending “the choices we have made”: the choice of the entire Azerbaijani people, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation. The choice to live in an independent country and to shape the future—both their own and that of future generations—without yielding to external pressure from partisan forces.

Yes, it was the victorious Azerbaijani people, who extended a hand of peace to defeated Armenia, because “we have no intention of waging war endlessly.” It was we who secured our brilliant Victory “at the most authoritative stage in the world—the White House” with the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump. And that is why we have never allowed—and will never allow—anyone to interfere in our affairs or dictate terms to us. Especially since behind us stands a strong political will, the unity of the people and the government, as well as a powerful military and economic potential, an energy strategy, and strategic transport and logistics capabilities.

On this note, President Ilham Aliyev highlighted that alongside the ongoing large-scale constructive work across all regions of the country—including the successful implementation of the “Great Return” programme, under which some 70,000 people now live, work, and study in territories liberated from occupation—Azerbaijan has significantly strengthened its international standing, built on a solid foundation of multi-vector foreign policy.

Our state has joined the ranks of participants in the international D-8 organisation, becoming the first new member of this structure in decades and entering the club of the eight largest Muslim-majority countries. At the same time, Azerbaijan became a full member of the Advisory Council of Central Asian States, which President Aliyev described as a historic achievement—demonstrating in concrete terms our country’s growing role in shaping both regional and global agendas.

In this context, it is worth recalling that at the recent C5+US summit in Washington, the presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan raised issues directly linked to Azerbaijan’s role in the broader regional space. Even U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted the significance of the so-called “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP).

Highlighting separately the successful hosting in 2025—on Azerbaijani territory, including liberated lands—of the summits of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and the Organization of Turkic States, which represented a major step toward consolidating the Turkic world, “our family,” the country’s leader emphasised how deep and multifaceted Azerbaijan’s relations with international structures align with Baku’s interests as a state well known for supporting equal and mutually respectful partnerships.

In line with the logic outlined by President Aliyev, one cannot fail to recall his well-known statement that Azerbaijan’s economic independence became the foundation of its political independence, a foundation laid by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. In this context, the head of state paid special attention to the country’s economic achievements, noting that foreign currency reserves had reached a historic record of over 80 billion dollars.

The President concluded his address by congratulating all Azerbaijanis worldwide on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis. The decision to celebrate December 31 as the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis was adopted in December 1991 at a session of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic under the chairmanship of Heydar Aliyev, after which the corresponding decree was submitted to the country’s parliament.

At the First Congress of World Azerbaijanis in 2001, the National Leader called on compatriots living abroad not to forget their national roots. As he emphasised, we are all united by national identity, historical roots, spiritual values, culture, and adherence to customs and traditions. These factors “bring us all together,” and “the idea of Azerbaijanism, Azerbaijanism itself, makes us united.”

Building on this emphasis of the National Leader, President Ilham Aliyev assured that our compatriots living in different parts of the world “know—and should always know—that a strong Azerbaijani state is always by their side.” To illustrate this, the President recalled that the events of 2025 clearly demonstrated how precious and important the fate of every Azerbaijani is, regardless of where they live, to their homeland. This is why “Azerbaijanis everywhere are well aware that their Motherland is the independent state of Azerbaijan.”

Brilliant—this is the word that best describes the style and approach of yesterday’s address by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the President of Azerbaijan. Concise, precise, respectful, and clear, the head of state conveyed the key messages to all interested parties. There is no doubt that they were heard.

Our fist of unity grows even stronger. More powerful. Louder. And, if necessary, once again acquires an iron edge.