Vote on anti-Azerbaijani PACE decision tears the masks off Baku's supposed friends Do Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia question our territorial integrity?

Some things are hard to face. Some moments make us squirm with vicarious embarrassment. This is probably what happened the day before when the PACE refused to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation. We would like to remind you that 76 deputies voted in favour of this decision, 10 voted against it and four abstained.

Caliber.Az has already published data on who voted and how they voted. We have taken note of both those who have supported us and those who have abstained from voting. The delegates of each country had their reasons for not voting. Some were afraid of offending those who initiated this anti-Azerbaijani resolution, and some simply shrugged their shoulders and left the voting hall thinking "it doesn't concern us". In this article, however, we would like to draw attention to the inaction of the delegations of three countries. We did not expect such indifference, to say the least. We are talking about Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, whose delegations refused to participate in voting.

Firstly, we should note that it is obvious to everyone why Western countries, structures, institutions and media have been attacking Azerbaijan. Among others, in the PACE. As we have already written in previous materials, they simply cannot accept/digest the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We achieved this on our own, without outside help, without the help of the UN, PACE, EP and other useless structures with bloated budgets and bureaucratic apparatus. They make much noise but do nothing. As long as Azerbaijan was dependent on Karabakh, we were "good" for them. This is understandable, not least because a host of co-chairs, facilitators, negotiators and other mediators were feeding off it. But once Azerbaijan liberated its territories and fully restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity, many were left out. But we have done our work. We have regained our lands. We are in the process of their restoration by our own means. We are breathing life into them. How can Azerbaijan be forgiven for this?

As we know, Azerbaijan was not the only post-Soviet country with territorial integrity issues. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova all had a common problem. It was separatism, the occupation of their lands and the policy of ethnic cleansing. But by the year 2020, Azerbaijan had become the only state in the former Soviet Union that had been able to solve this problem. Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova remained in the club of unsolved territorial problems. But how did their delegations behave at PACE yesterday? They simply did not bother to vote. Yes, the domestic media aired the loud speech of the Ukrainian MP for our country, who at the end stressed: "Long live Azerbaijan!". A pleasant moment for us. But useless in practice. After all, the entire Ukrainian delegation did not take part in the vote.

Delegates from Georgia and Moldova did the same. And finally, the PACE's main point was the questioning of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. The PACE resolution was full of accusations against Baku: "Actions of the Azerbaijani authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh", and "Blockade of the Lachin corridor". Doesn't the fact that the delegates of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova did not participate in voting against these attacks on Azerbaijan's territorial integrity mean that they refuse to recognise Baku's sovereignty over the liberated Azerbaijani territories?

Azerbaijan has friendly relations with all these countries. Our economic and diplomatic relations with Moldova are stable. "The partnership with Azerbaijan is very important for the achievement of Moldova's energy independence," Chisinau says.

"Azerbaijan is a friend and reliable partner of Ukraine in the international arena," says Kyiv. Our country has been providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the first days of the war.

Tbilisi never tires of declaring that "Azerbaijan is not only our friend and neighbour, but also a very strong strategic and trade partner".

But a friend is a friend in need. Azerbaijan has never been a stranger to its friends in times of need. And it has never challenged the territorial integrity of its friends (and, more broadly, of any state in the world).

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are also members of GUAM. This implies, among other things, closer cooperation in the international arena. Unfortunately, yesterday's meeting of the PACE showed a different picture. Well, Baku is certainly going to consider all this. Azerbaijan does not pretend to be offended. But we remember both good and bad things.

As for PACE, its policies towards us are doomed to failure beforehand. Strasbourg trying to pressure Baku doesn't match the geopolitical and regional balance. We are not trying to befriend anyone, we are not trying to please everyone, but we are also not going to compromise our national interests.