We did it – Azerbaijan’s triple triumph

I’ll try my hand at a new format — a blitz commentary. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of detailed analyses about the outcome of today’s meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia. Quite the opposite — there will be plenty.

In essence, one could simply state the facts. President Ilham Aliyev can celebrate yet another success. Once again, he has achieved the desired result and upheld the national dignity of our country.

Yet even in a “blitz” format, I can’t resist adding a few remarks. We are witnessing a remarkable blend of firm principle and a willingness to go all the way, balanced by a pragmatic and carefully calculated approach. I don’t wish to dramatise, but the dynamics between Russia and Azerbaijan remind me of an aerial dogfight — two aircraft, having fired all their ammunition, flying head-on toward each other. Neither is willing to swerve.

I won’t shout “we’ve won,” though the temptation is strong. What matters is that we did not lose — and that is no small achievement. After all, our duel was with an opponent far greater in size and power. Credit where it’s due: despite the overzealous outbursts of certain politicians who, charging ahead, tried to fuel anti-Azerbaijani sentiment (yes, the Kremlin had its line, but many acted on the principle of “send a fool to pray to God — he’ll smash his own forehead”), Moscow ultimately made a sober and realistic assessment of the situation.

In one of my earlier articles, I wrote that escalating this conflict serves neither Baku nor Moscow. Picking a fight with Russia is costly, no matter one’s view of its current realities — and doubly so when that neighbour is right next door. Yet I also emphasised that there are certain principles Azerbaijan will never compromise on. That conclusion is hardly difficult to reach — just recall the years 2020 and 2023.

Or take another recent triumph — the meeting between our President and French President Emmanuel Macron. This is the same man who once accused our country and its leader of every imaginable sin, lamenting that, much as he wished, he could not send troops to “protect” the supposedly innocent and defenceless — Armenian — killers and criminals. And though Macron himself has taken blows both in Africa and at home in France, his attitude toward us remains unchanged.

Let us not forget Washington either — and President Trump’s words about our country and our President. Such statements have never before been heard from the White House. And no one can accuse Donald Trump of offering praise reluctantly — when he speaks, he tells it as it is, cutting straight to the truth with a sharpness that makes the feathers fly.

A miracle, you ask? Yes — an ordinary one. Such things happen when a state functions like a single, well-oiled timepiece, led by a master of political timing and foresight. And as for the recent Summit of Turkic States in Gabala — well, it’s time to stop there. After all, this is a blitz piece, and the headline promises a triple triumph, not a quadruple one.

Finally, our Turkish brothers have a saying after major victories — usually in sport — “Teşekkürler, Türkiye!” (Thanks, Türkiye) This isn’t about sport, but I’d like to borrow it for our country. Teşekkürler, Azerbaijan!