Victory on the battlefield, triumph in peace Baku’s strategy gains global recognition

In his speech at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in 2025, President Ilham Aliyev uttered a phrase that became widely quoted: “We won, both in war and in peace. We ended the occupation and started reconstruction. Justice has triumphed, sovereignty has been consolidated, and peace is de-facto reached.” These words, spoken by the head of state in September of last year in New York, were recalled once again recently — at the ceremony where the country’s leader was awarded the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity. The President of Azerbaijan received this award for the steps taken to bring an end to the “decades of conflict and humanitarian suffering in the Caucasus,” which, according to the Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, Mohamed Abdelsalam, marked “pivotal milestone in advancing global peace.”

The international community recently witnessed a significant event — the de facto recognition and endorsement by a respected international organisation of Baku’s peace-oriented approach.

The political leadership of the Azerbaijani president was particularly evident when, on January 9, 2026, he received  Mohamed Abdelsalam and the members of the Award jury, emphasising: “[...] strong political will is needed to achieve peace. You must genuinely desire it. You must do it not just in words, but in deeds.”

This direction of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy was noted during the ceremony by almost all the political leaders who congratulated the awardees through video messages. The essence of these congratulatory remarks can be summarised by the words of the Prime Minister of fraternal Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, who emphasised that in a world gripped by division and conflict, the decisiveness, courage, and leadership of President Aliyev, as well as his forward-looking vision, have always stood out. According to the Pakistani prime minister, this was evident, in particular, in opening the path to peace and strengthening stability. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif described the President of Azerbaijan as a determined herald of peace and stability in the Caucasus and beyond.

It must be acknowledged that Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif described Azerbaijan’s peace-oriented approach in an extraordinary and vivid manner — an approach that President Aliyev himself reaffirmed in his speech in Abu Dhabi. Above all, the head of state, calling life in peace a special privilege, expressed his gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump for his contribution to establishing peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This peace became a historical reality during the trilateral meeting organised in Washington by the Oval Office in August 2025, during which Donald Trump, acting as a witness, signed the Joint Declaration between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A key point is that all the signed documents, including the peace agreement initialled by both sides, were prepared based on the principles of peace initiated by Baku immediately after the brilliant victory of the Azerbaijani army in the Patriotic War.

Similarly, at the current historical stage, Azerbaijan has become a pioneer in facilitating freight transport to Armenia and exporting petroleum products to that country. As President Aliyev emphasised, trade relations between the two nations are showing a trend toward expansion.

President Ilham Aliyev also noted that the United Arab Emirates hosted the final round of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations in the summer of 2025. In this context, the ceremony for awarding the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, held directly in Abu Dhabi, was seen by the head of state as highly symbolic. As he aptly remarked, on February 4, 2026, the air in the UAE was charged with symbolism, prompting the president to express his gratitude to those who decided to bestow this prestigious award.

In conclusion, President Aliyev made a crucial point of global significance, highlighting the importance for countries in a state of war of studying and applying Azerbaijan’s example as a kind of roadmap.

The experience of the country clearly demonstrates that achieving peace is possible “despite long-lasting conflict, suffering, and mutual distrust.” However, this can only be realised with strong political will on both sides, as well as the support of friendly nations and the international community for the peace process.

A key nuance is that what President Aliyev expressed in Abu Dhabi was not stated for the first time. In his speech at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, mentioned at the beginning of this article, the head of state, noting the de facto peace established in the region, declared his readiness “to share our positive experience.”

Moreover, at the January meeting with Mohamed Abdelsalam and the members of the Zayed Award jury, referred to above, the president emphasised that in circumstances where efforts to advance peace receive recognition, “it motivates you even more and sends a message of peace to other places on the global map where people are still dying in war.”

In other words, President Ilham Aliyev conveyed to the international community in the clearest terms that peace must be actively pursued. Achieving victory in peace is no less challenging than victory on the battlefield. Azerbaijan has experienced this firsthand, as vested external forces repeatedly — and some continue to — attempt to undermine Baku’s peace efforts. However, Azerbaijan’s consistent foreign policy, based on defending national interests without harming third parties and strictly adhering to all norms and principles of international law, has prevented adversaries from achieving their goals. As President Aliyev has repeatedly emphasised, historical justice will prevail.

It is to be hoped that President Ilham Aliyev’s important message will be heard by all relevant parties. Baku, in turn, is prepared to provide the necessary “roadmap” for implementing the outlined course.