Has the ice between Azerbaijan and the United States begun to melt?
The President specifically pointed to remarks made by US Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien on November 15, 2023, during hearings of the Subcommittee on Europe of the House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs. President Aliyev deemed these statements biased, divorced from reality, and officially rejected by Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani side, taking into account the US announcement of the suspension of bilateral meetings and high-level contacts, responded proportionately, emphasizing that the bilateral relations "cannot be the same as before."
According to the press service, President Aliyev reminded Secretary Blinken of Azerbaijan's official statement on November 16 and noted the reciprocal cancellation of high-level visits from the United States.
In an unexpected turn, Secretary Blinken proposed a December visit by US Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien to Azerbaijan with the aim of normalizing relations. President Aliyev agreed to this proposition, conditional upon the subsequent lifting of the unwarranted ban on visits by high-ranking Azerbaijani officials to the United States. Secretary Blinken accepted this condition, as stated in the official announcement.
Political commentator Rauf Mirgadirov provided insights on these developments during the "Difficult Question" program hosted by Kamran Mahmudov. Mirgadirov posited that, contrary to the reports from the Azerbaijani press, the primary focus of the talks was not the strained relations between Baku and Washington. He argued that the fact that Secretary Blinken also contacted Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan on the same day suggests a broader Azerbaijani-Armenian negotiation context. Mirgadirov speculated that the cooling of relations and the rhetoric from Ambassador O'Brien are linked to Azerbaijan's perceived avoidance of the peace negotiation process.
He contends that the West, openly desiring a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia to diminish Russian influence in the region, faces resistance from Azerbaijan due to pre-existing commitments to Russia. Mirgadirov cited Azerbaijan's refusal to participate in the Granada Summit and the subsequent Brussels summit as evidence of this stance.
Difficult question
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On December 18, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, gave an interview to several Russian media outlets. In this interview, Aliyev discussed the significant influence of Western countries on processes in Georgia, highlighting the activities of thousands of non-governmental organizations in the country funded from abroad. The president also reacted to news coverage about Azerbaijan in Western media.
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