What is in portfolio of German foreign minister's South Caucasus visit Expert opinions on Caliber.Az

On November 3-4, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit Baku and Yerevan. This is the first visit of the German foreign minister to Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the second to the South Caucasus after a visit to Georgia in the spring of 2023.

In Baku, Annalena Baerbock will hold talks with his colleague Jeyhun Bayramov, after which a joint press conference will be held at the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

I wonder what goals the German foreign minister is pursuing? Berlin seems to feel the need to promote peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Is Germany concerned about the possibility of a new war between our countries, or are there some other reasons?

Foreign observers shared their thoughts about this with Caliber.Az.

PhD in Philosophy (Sweden) Greg Simons believes that Germany acts as a client state of the United States, since even before the start of the war in Ukraine, the Germans have lost a significant part of their prestige (in Europe and internationally), and are also in a desperate economic situation.

“The German economy is systematically deindustrializing (as is Europe as a whole). They have a huge energy crisis due to their blind ideological pursuit of green policies, which is causing a growing level of discontent among the German public. In my opinion, any participation of Berlin in the peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a cover and justification, since Germany does not have significant experience in this kind of activities. Most likely, the real reason is to test Azerbaijan's willingness and ability to supply Germany with energy. This can already be seen in the language used. They do not want to be considered beggars, hence the appearance of some kind of mediator between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This, of course, will not be something that she came up with herself; rather, Germany is the official and public envoy. At least that is my opinion, given the various implied and hidden meanings implied by public messages,” Simons said.

In turn, political expert, professor at the Black Sea International University (Tbilisi) Nika Chitadze thinks that, first of all, Germany is interested in being more involved in the mediation process with the aim of finally resolving the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and signing a peace treaty between the two countries.

"Germany, together with the European Union, wants to replace Russia as a mediator," the professor said.