Member of the House of Commons of the British Parliament, former British Defense Secretary, Liam Fox, made a speech today at the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan.
He gave his assessment to the challenges and problems of the South Caucasus region and around the world, to the geopolitics of global processes and shared his assessments of the prospects of development of the situation.
In particular, Liam Fox said that the situation of the Cold War period, when two forces opposed each other, have been changed by the confrontation of multi-polar world. Now there is a confrontation of not two political systems, but of several. They are nuclear powers, regional powers and religious groups. He called Pakistan and Iran the sources of such threats.
In this sense, Europe and the West should rely on Turkey as an important regional player and contribute to the rapprochement of Ankara with the EU.
As for social values , such as freedom and democracy, according to Fox, it is impossible to choose between security and freedoms. However, the main priorities for the West, in any case remain: the free market, rule of law and fundamental freedoms.
In this regard, Azerbaijan should strive to ensure that all of these priorities, said the Fox, and mentioned as an example Georgia and that Saakashvili's government was able to defeat corruption, which is almost something natural in the Caucasus.
Referring to the military-political situation, the ex-defense minister of Britain noted the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenian forces. He also said that the Karabakh conflict and the occupation of the territories around Karabakh should be separated from each other. He called the intolerable the situation where the factor of occupation of lands is used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
Among the main regional threats, he called Iran and its nuclear program.
Over 30 years of existence, the regime has not changed and continues its aggressive policy, supporting the terrorist organization "Hezbollah" and "Hamas." If they have nuclear weapons, a threat to international stability will be more than real, says Fox.
The Azerbaijani authorities know well that the Tehran regime wants to export political, Shiite Islam to other countries and this is a threat to the stability in Azerbaijan, said Fox.
Another threat is Russia, which could have a negative impact on stability, as it was in August 2008, when it was occupied by a part of Georgia, said ex-minister.
In this sense, Russia has a maximum capacity to influence the Karabakh conflict. This effect is much greater than that of the democratic West, he said.
To counteract these threats, NATO must cooperate actively with its partners in such a strategically important region as the South Caucasus, namely Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, said Fox.
Responding to questions from the audience on ways out of the situation and, in particular, the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Fox cited the example of Northern Ireland, where the economic interests outweigh the interests of separatism and attract people to live in one state and not be separated. -02В-
Politics
-
A new draft agreement on financing climate programs, unveiled at the 29th session of the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP29), proposes allocating at least $1.3 trillion (€1.23 trillion) annually for climate protection measures and adaptation to the impact of climate change, according to a 34-page document released on Wednesday. The draft, developed with input from developing nations, aims to address the needs of the world's poorest countries, though several contentious issues remain unresolved, AFP reported.
-
On November 13, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Afghan Taliban held talks in Baku as part of the COP29 conference. According to a report by Turan correspondent, the discussions took place behind closed doors and lasted for over an hour. No statements were made to the press following the meeting. Furthermore, conference security prevented journalists from asking questions to the meeting participants.
-
Kichikhanim Khalilova, the wife of arrested public activist and first-group disabled person, Famil Khalilov, reported being followed during her time at the COP29 conference on November 13. She had been accredited in the "Green Zone" as a civil rights activist. From the moment she entered the conference area, a young man began to follow her.
-
The imprisoned journalists of Abzas Media have had their phone calls with relatives reduced from 15 minutes to just 2 minutes. This restriction is reportedly linked to the ongoing international climate conference COP29 in Baku.
Leave a review