Ilham Aliyev provided insight into who he would like to see as US President

The current Azerbaijani authorities are more comfortable working with the Republican administration in the United States and would prefer President Donald Trump to win the upcoming elections. This follows from President Ilham Aliyev's answers to the questions of the participants of the II Shusha Global Media Forum on 20 July.

In particular, answering the question of who Aliyev would prefer to see as President after the 5 November elections, the Azerbaijani leader noted that “the decision will be adopted by the American people”.

At the same time, Aliyev noted one of Donald Trump's theses during the campaign that ‘there were no wars under him. “Under him America did not start wars, there was no Vietnam, Korea, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria, etc. This is the period in which it didn't happen. Well, it is probably worth treating it with great respect,” Aliyev said.

Another of Trump's theses that impressed Aliyev was ‘a clear position (Trump) on the issue of traditional values. "I think that the absolute majority of the Azerbaijani people not only share this position, but actively promote it and put it into practice," Aliyev noted.

Answering the question of who is better to find common ground with in the US administration with Democrats or Republicans, Aliyev said that "Azerbaijan's relations with Republican administrations have been significantly successful and effective."

"‘If you look at my relations with US leaders, it becomes clear. At the same time, under President Trump, we had very effective co-operation. They were built on mutual respect and mutual appreciation of support. Our relationship with the United States has almost always been stable. There have been certain ups and downs that are not our fault. Because sometimes there were certain inflated expectations towards Azerbaijan. On the other hand, they tried to interfere in our political life, tried to finance the political opposition. These attempts were made directly and through certain NGOs. As you know, Azerbaijan is a small country, everyone in Baku knows it," Aliyev continued.

But, ‘despite the ups and downs’, Azerbaijan views relations with the US as "strategic and important".

‘Here we have tried to do our best. In particular, I mean our participation in peacekeeping operations from a practical point of view. When they first started, Azerbaijan was the first non-NATO country to join these operations in Afghanistan. Azerbaijan was the last country to leave Afghanistan. American troops left the country, or rather fled. But we were still there. We were the last ones to leave the airport with the Turkish armed forces. That was our partnership. They needed us for Afghanistan. I remember that senior U.S. officials, the Defense Ministry's transport command, visited Azerbaijan several times. They thanked us because Azerbaijan is a corridor called the northern network and we are part of it. It should also be noted that the main route to Afghanistan was a very difficult route. But what did they do after the mission in Afghanistan was over? They reinstated sanctions against us again. I'm talking about the 907 Amendment. They did not provide any logical explanation for the Amendment”, Aliyev continued.

He also added that he was ‘deeply disappointed’ with the activities of the current US administration for its “unilateral approach” and “drawing dividing lines in the Caucasus”.

In particular, Aliyev criticized the position of the US Secretary of State and the EU High Commissioner for External Relations for the decisions to provide financial assistance to Armenia for military purposes within the framework of the so-called "European Peace Mechanism".

“Its name is a peace mechanism, but its purpose is to allocate funds in the military field. This is totally unacceptable. Sometimes we provide our messages publicly, sometimes behind the scenes that Azerbaijan's interests in the South Caucasus must be secured, and if someone tries to ignore our interests, of course he will be wrong and will fail. I honestly say that part of the anti-Azerbaijani activity (in the US - ed.) is related to the Presidential elections. They wanted Armenian votes, they wanted to secure them. I think that, in my opinion, maybe that was the point. I hope that after the elections Washington and Europe will better understand Azerbaijan, our potential, our role,” Aliyev further noted.

President Aliyev also complained about the bias of leading publications “Washington Post” and “New York Times, recalling that Trump called their reports “fake news”.

"Imagine that the “Washington Post” publishes dozens of editorial-level articles calling me a dictator and satrap," Aliyev said.