Azerbaijan should become a pioneer in peace-building

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- Rashad bey, how do you see the further development of Azerbaijan's relations with the West due to the events on the eve of the 44-day war? What is the current level of relations now and can they develop after that?

- Some of our citizens who support democracy often think that Western countries and institutions look at relations with the world only through the prism of values, for example, through the prism of democracy. It is not an idealist approach and can explain events and behaviors to some extent. But this is not the only approach, and sometimes it is a marginal approach. The dominant approach in interstate relations is often a realistic approach. According to the realistic approach, interests and power are important, not ideologies and values. For example, economic, political, strategic, security interests.

The 44-day Patriotic War showed that the leading Western countries, which have good relations with us and are interested in us, have remained quite neutral (USA, England, Germany) or have supported us (Italy). From this point of view, I think the general rhythm and dynamics of relations are realistic. Even an official position of France, which has very close historical and diaspora relations with Armenia, was in favor of Azerbaijan. President Macron said that Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan. Now a new era is beginning, and this new era opens up new opportunities. In the spirit of the ceasefire statement, there are important signs for the development of the region. A lot of diplomatic work will be needed here. After achieving a military victory, Azerbaijan must work in a diplomatic direction. Part of this work is peacebuilding. This is what is meant by gaining peace. A lot of works needs to be done in the direction of peace as the victor in the conflict. Just as there are mines in the area physically, so the minds and mentality of the people in the region are time bombs, and history shows that these bombs explode from time to time.

Azerbaijan should pioneer in peacebuilding with Western countries and institutions. The experience of Germany and France should be studied, the history of the European Union should be considered. Economic unions such as the Coal and Steel Community should be established. There are already two separate independent countries that have defined their borders (more or less) - Armenia and Azerbaijan. From a new page, a process that ensures the participation of Western countries and institutions should begin.

- The position of the Western media and politicians on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was sharp, even one-sided and biased. Isn't it clear that the Azerbaijani side is turning away from the West?

- In my opinion, the main difficulty for us was that the Western community believed that the war was started by Azerbaijan. With the support of Turkey. This was not a matter that created sympathy in Western public opinion. In response, Azerbaijan took action in both the state and civil society positions. This unity was very important and also rare. Usually, civil society and the state are on different waves. Now there is a common front.

The main target audience was Western and, in part, Russian public opinion. Meanwhile, certain anti-Western rhetoric was formed. I also wrote an article about it and stressed that it was not useful for us. But, as I mentioned above, the West was not unanimous, there were a number of important states that supported our position or remained neutral. This was the result of our role in (geo)political area.

The existence and activity of Azerbaijan over the past 30 years has created a number of important relations, which are reflected today. Of course, the most important is the relationship with Turkey and Israel, and although the state of Israel is in the Middle East, it belongs to the West in essence and is a country with very strong political, economic, and cultural support in the West.

- The position of the West in the Karabakh conflict has become clear. And today, anti-Western rhetoric is felt in the Azerbaijani media and political community. Maybe they are somewhat right. But sometimes democracy, freedoms, and values come to the fore. What can turning away from the West and giving up those values give to Azerbaijan? Is this approach the right approach?

- Anti-western rhetoric will not last long anyway. There are many wires that connect us with the West - cultural, political, economic, educational. We are a lucky country in this regard, for example, compared to Central Asia or the Middle East. We are, in a sense, Eastern Europe, even though we are the most remote point. We must use this opportunity properly. The West will always be a stronger center of attraction for us. In science, education, technology, progress, freedom, and other senses. As I mentioned above, the issue of values ​​is a bit more complicated but I do not think that society will move away from the West in terms of values. Politically, there may be a departure from some circles but, in general, it is impossible. Europe and America will always be important for Azerbaijanis. Along with many interests, there is also a human interest - a significant part of our citizens live, study, work, and build their lives in Western countries. This is a new strong factor in our relationship with Europe and America, and the European Union attaches great importance to this, that is, human contact, and pursues official policies and strategies in this regard (human to human contact). It is also worth recalling the recent positive messages voiced by Turkey regarding allies in Europe and the West. Both President Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu have given and continue to give messages in support of European integration. Such messages should also be heard from Azerbaijani officials.

- Could it be that the West took such a position during the war because Azerbaijan has not properly established contacts and lobbying policy in this area?

- The diplomatic front has been weaker than the military front. I think foreign policy structures should be reformed. With a different philosophy, a different approach. Diplomats are civil servants and are often more careful than necessary and not an attempter. There is a need for more active participation, and more active forms and people should be involved. For example, the entire French Senate (except one) voted against us, despite our relations with France. Our position here has been weak due to obvious reasons.

There was a gap in the work with the global media and international organizations. Civil society has tried to fill this gap, both in the field and on social media, and I think it has been quite successful. Active civic groups have done important work in Belgium, Germany, Canada, the United States, and other countries.

One lacking thing, one of the big problems is that we are still few in number in the world's intellectual centers. Although the situation is better than before. The war has shown that others speak more about us in the world than we do. We have almost no analysts, writers, journalists, politicians who can be considered global or European authorities. We were busy with responding to messages from Western experts and the media.

In any case, if we speak on more positive notes, the situation is better than before because we have introduced ourselves to the world for 30 years in a certain sense, both as a state and as individuals, and have established relations. Therefore, the propaganda against us was not as destructive as before.

- What should be done after that to normalize the relations between the West and Azerbaijan, as well as to convey the just truths of Azerbaijan to the West? What steps should the West take to avoid losing Azerbaijan? What should Azerbaijan do to get closer to the West, against the backdrop of the fact that there are internal and external forces that do not want it?

- In my opinion, the West has no such thing as losing Azerbaijan. Energy and security projects connect us to the West. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan should increase its contacts with Western politicians, civil society, and the media. This should be done both in the direction of a reformed official foreign policy and through civic groups and individuals. At the same time, Western states and institutions, especially the European Union, need to strengthen the issue of human contact. Individual connections should increase. The problem here can also be the acceleration of the brain drain. Therefore, there must be serious reforms in Azerbaijan. These reforms should be economic and political to prevent the brain drain.