Comments on Aliyev's visit to Brussels

Baku/17.12.21/Turan: On December 15, President Ilham Aliyev took part in the summit of the European Union as part of the Eastern Partnership program.

The joint declaration adopted at the end of the summit contains a separate paragraph on the political situation in Belarus. Azerbaijan refused to join this 11th paragraph. They explain this by interference in the internal affairs of the country. According to some experts, since human rights cannot be an internal affair of any country, this is just an excuse, and Azerbaijan is moving away from integration with the West towards Russia and Belarus.

Partnership talks between Azerbaijan and the European Union began in 2017, but the agreement has not yet been signed. President Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the 6th EU Eastern Partnership Summit, noted that more than 90 percent of the work on a new partnership agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU has been completed. “We hope that the rest of the document will be completed as a result of negotiations that will take place over the coming period.” At the same time, the President stressed that Azerbaijan signed documents on strategic partnership with 9 member states of the European Union, noted the cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan in the energy sector, noting that these relations also have the nature of a strategic partnership.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported that the Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit reflects a number of issues of importance for Azerbaijan, including the EU supported the territorial integrity of all partner countries, including Azerbaijan, within its internationally recognized borders, and welcomed ongoing negotiations on the project new bilateral agreement Azerbaijan-EU, a memorandum of understanding was signed on the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor project from the point of applause.

However, the Foreign Ministry noted that Azerbaijan adopted the joint declaration unconditionally due to the fact that the opinions reflected in the Joint Declaration on Belarus do not correspond to the principles of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. That is, Azerbaijan stated that it does not share the position on paragraph 11 with regard to Belarus.

Milli Mejlis deputy Azer Badamov told Turan that Azerbaijan's relations with the European Union are at a very high level. “In 2018, the document“ Priorities for Partnership ”with the European Union was initialed. The agreement was agreed by 90 percent, 10 percent remained, and their agreement is being resolved. I think that after these issues are resolved within a short period, our relations with the European Union will reach a higher level, the said agreement will be signed. This means a new stage in our relations with the European Union ”.

He noted that Azerbaijan is interested in expanding bilateral relations with the member states of the European Union. “Our country is building and developing bilateral relations with these states outside the Eastern Partnership. Azerbaijan also cooperates with the European Union within the framework of the Eastern Partnership program ”.

The MP stressed that today Azerbaijan is actively involved in the energy security of the European space. “On December 31, 2020, the TAP transatlantic project was put into operation, during which time more than 7 billion cubic meters of gas were exported from Azerbaijan to the European Union. Starting next year, it is planned to increase it to 9 billion, and in 2023 - to 11 billion. Another direction - the countries of the European Union - is a new market for Azerbaijan. For Azerbaijan there is a traditional market - Russia and the CIS countries, but in the future, we must expand our trade relations with the European Union market. After the signing of the agreement, a new reality will appear in this direction. "

Another issue, he said, is the visa regime with the EU countries and its softening. “This issue is being discussed. One of the points of the declaration adopted at its last summit is also the establishment of a new approach to the visa regime. After the agreement comes into force, the issue of the visa regime can be discussed. "

Political commentator Azer Gasimli said that the question of Azerbaijan's priority in relations with the West or Russia depends on who is in power in Azerbaijan.

In his opinion, it was clear that Ilham Aliyev would not sign the paragraph on Belarus. "If an authoritarian regime is in power, then the choice is obvious. The Eastern Partnership program itself is a program that contradicts authoritarianism. But it got to the point that Azerbaijan as a state participates in it, and the problem is that an authoritarian country participates in a democratic platform. What else could they expect when they called Ilham Aliyev there? Naturally, Ilham Aliyev would not sign anything like this against his friend. Authoritarian regimes in the post-Soviet space support each other. "

The political scientist noted that when the Eastern Partnership program was announced, they saw Belarus along with Azerbaijan, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine. “Belarus chose a different path and completely severed these ties. When it comes to the principle of values ​​and even the geopolitical principle, there is no significant difference between Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev. Lukashenko also periodically tried to pursue a policy of balance between the West and Russia before the well-known events. Ilham Aliyev is doing this too."

According to him, the policy of the West is mainly to involve countries of this type in the process, albeit slowly, but to change something or not allow to completely close and not allow such leaders as Ilham Aliyev to fully meet Russia’s half-way. "This is how they currently accept. Naturally, they strategically want to see Azerbaijan as democratic, but so far the problem of Ukraine has overshadowed the problems of the countries of the South Caucasus." –0--