World fails to condemn genocide of Algerians, Azerbaijanis in Karabakh Aliyev's important message made in Algeria

Against the background of global political processes that directly affect the Arab states' interests, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's statements in Algeria at the summit of the League of Arab States (LAS) sounded a harsh response to France, which allowed itself to accuse Baku of aggression against Armenia. Paris was clearly reminded of its brutal colonial policy and the implementation of inhumane ethnic cleansing of the Algerian people.

Speaking at the summit's opening ceremony, the Azerbaijani president called the massacre committed by France in Algeria "an event that the world should never forget". This is an important message from President Aliyev, addressed not only to "enlightened" Europe but also to the entire Arab world, as well as to the international community, which, in fact, as in the case of the genocide in Algeria, remained silent for almost 30 years of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia. In a logical and substantive way, Ilham Aliyev drew parallels between the policies of France and Armenia, which, despite their incomparable weight in regional and world politics, do not disdain atrocities against humanity.

"France waged a terrible war against the Algerian people, as a result of which 1.5 million people died. Today, remembering this terrible event, we must do everything possible to prevent similar disasters in the future," President Aliyev said, stressing that Armenia also carried out ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis, committing unprecedented acts of vandalism in Azerbaijan.

"Two years ago, Azerbaijan put an end to the conflict. We have liberated our territories from occupation and returned to our lands," the head of state said, expressing gratitude to the Arab countries for the support of Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan, like Algeria, was once occupied. Armenia has held our lands under occupation for 30 years. Over the years, we have felt the support of our Arab brothers," the head of state said.

This message of the president says that Baku does not forget and appreciates those who supported the country in difficult moments and, as a rule, responds to the good. This should be remembered not only by Azerbaijan's friends but also by its enemies, who, apparently, are very annoyed by the country's victory in Karabakh and the multi-vector format of cooperation in the world, which has significantly increased the state's image. In particular, quite strong bilateral ties have been established with the leading countries of the Middle East, for example, with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt. At the same time, Azerbaijan is guided by the principles of Islamic solidarity both on a bilateral basis - with the countries of the Arab world, and within the framework of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the UN and other international organisations.

At the same time, official Baku adheres to its own position on issues related to territorial conflicts. Baku has repeatedly stated that it supports a just and comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian conflict and is ready to make its contribution in this direction. In 2018, Azerbaijan allocated $5 million to Palestine relief funds and continues to provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian people.

At the same time, Azerbaijan has strong strategic relations with Israel. Moreover, Baku and Tel Aviv are currently conducting intensive negotiations on the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel. This step will further strengthen the level of trust between our countries, which is in the interests of both Azerbaijan and Israel. However, on the other hand, this may become another reason for discontent with neighbouring Iran, relations with which have deteriorated recently due to the Islamic Republic's provocative attacks.

It is known that close Israeli-Azerbaijani ties are regarded in neighbouring Tehran as a threat to Iran's security, although official Baku has repeatedly denied these rumours and brought to the attention of its southern neighbour that Azerbaijan's relations with any state are in no way aimed against a third party. First of all, it would contradict the principles of our state policy.

If we talk about the growing interaction of Baku with the Arab world countries, the Azerbaijani president's participation in the Arab League summit clearly reflects that cooperation with the Arab world countries is an important direction of Azerbaijan's multi-vector policy. The fact that the countries of the Arab world are also striving for closer relations with Azerbaijan, which is obvious even in the example of Algeria, shows that the common goal of strengthening Azerbaijani-Arab cooperation has been achieved.

The growing Azerbaijani-Algerian ties can be cited as an example. It should be recalled that diplomatic relations between our countries were established on April 22, 1994, in June 2014, a decision was signed on the establishment of the Azerbaijani embassy in Algeria, which began operating in 2016. There are also friendly ties between the parliaments of both countries. Thus, the Azerbaijani-Algerian interparliamentary working group operates in the Milli Majlis (parliament), and the Algerian-Azerbaijani interparliamentary friendship group operates in the Algerian parliament. Five Algerian companies operating in the service, trade and agriculture sectors are registered in Azerbaijan. According to statistics, during 1995-2022 Algeria invested $504,900 in Azerbaijan. In 2021, the volume of trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $1,373,200, while in January-September 2022, the volume of trade turnover reached $865,750.

In the same context, Azerbaijan's relations with Qatar are also quite indicative. To date, over 30 documents have been signed between the two countries. In 2019, the trade turnover between Baku and Doha amounted to $2 billion. It is worth recalling that Qatar fully supported Azerbaijan's position in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict in November 2020.

Back in 2016, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also stated that Baku and Doha need to raise economic cooperation to the level of political interaction and establish an economic bridge between the countries at a meeting held in Baku with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The president already regarded Qatar's relations with Azerbaijan as a practical example of Baku's multi-vector nature.

It should be recalled that the first official visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Qatar took place back in 2004, and later in 2017, his second visit to this Arab state took place. A year earlier, in 2016, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, visited Azerbaijan, which was regarded in Baku as the beginning of a new stage in bilateral relations. Among other things, the opening of direct flights between Qatar and Azerbaijan played an important role in the development of bilateral relations.

Just last year, the Azerbaijani and Qatari governments signed an agreement on the abolition of the mutual visa requirement for persons with civil passports, and most likely such reforms will continue between the two countries in the future.

In the context of Azerbaijani-Arab cooperation, one can also cite the close ties between Baku and Riyadh. The Kingdom was one of the first states to recognise Azerbaijan's independence - on December 30, 1991. Baku does not forget that it was Saudi Arabia that provided humanitarian assistance to Azerbaijan in 1994-1999 in order to overcome the refugee crisis as a result of the Karabakh conflict. In 2002, the Saudi Development Fund provided the Azerbaijani government with a loan of 35.7 million rials [$9.5 million] for the construction of secondary schools in Baku. During the Armenian occupation of Karabakh, Saudi Arabia was one of the few countries that continuously provided support to Azerbaijan, and this fact is highly appreciated in Baku.

All these examples show that Azerbaijan's relations with the Arab world states are becoming more intense and multifaceted. In this sense, President Ilham Aliyev's invitation of the Arab League member states to the upcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which is expected to be held in Baku in March 2023, is particularly indicative and gives great hopes for the long-term prospects of Baku's multilateral cooperation with all other states of the Arab world.