Mehman Aliyev: “This people has won, this is a different people, you cannot talk to this people like that”

- How do you assess the outgoing year? More than a month passed since the war is over. Is it possible to say that the war with Armenians is over?

- I would not say that the war is over. The radical circles in Armenia are calling for revenge and a new war. How can we talk about the end of the war? Until the Great Peace Agreement is signed, it is wrong to say that the war over. Apart from appeals for peace, the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group did not prevent us from waging the war; there was no effective pressure on Azerbaijan. This means there was a preliminary agreement of the parties to the war in Karabakh, the reason for which was the uncompromising position of the Armenian side. For 28 years Armenia considered itself a victorious country, did not compromise, and even threatened to seize new territories. Therefore, the war was inevitable, and the co-chairs understood this. The situation can be assessed from the prism of coercion or an invitation to peace - everyone sees in different way.

As for the Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh, no one else could promptly send troops there, because in the United States and the European Union this requires a long procedure of coordination at the level of legislative and executive authorities.

- Why was such an agreement reached 28 years later, why was it impossible before?

- Time passes, priorities change and alignment of forces change, new interests appear, and the geopolitical situation is changing. When the ceasefire protocol was signed in Bishkek in 1994, the Russians wanted a monopoly on the settlement, bring in their peacekeepers and establish a military base in Ganja. President Heydar Aliyev and others did not agree with this. The Istanbul summit of the OSCE foreign ministers in June 1994 decided on the inadmissibility of bringing only one country's peacekeeping force into Nagorno Karabakh.  It was decided that the presence of a contingent of any state in the composition of the peacekeeping forces cannot exceed the quota of 30%, and this force will be present under the auspices of the OSCE. This provision was consolidated in the same year at the December summit of the OSCE Heads of State and Government in Budapest.  I expect that at future talks within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group the question of the status of the Russian peacekeepers will be raised, legitimizing their presence. So far, their actions are based on an emergency document as the Statement of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Subsequently, the composition of the peacekeepers should be expanded on the basis of the 1994 OSCE decisions. Turkey played an active role in the war process, and it interacts with Russia. This is a new reality. Turkey is the second most powerful country in NATO; and its participation is a new and important factor of balance.

- I. Aliyev demanded the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces, but after November 10, they remained in Karabakh despite the requirement of the fourth point of the Statement. Why?

- Partially Armenian units withdrew from Karabakh, the head of the Armenian community of Karabakh declares about the self-defense forces remaining there. In Karabakh, the population was ordered to surrender weapons. It is clear that rapid demilitarization will not work, obviously, in the future, the issue of local, Armenian police forces necessary to maintain order in the Armenian-populated part of Karabakh will be resolved. This is a reality, in order to change it, the relations of the parties must be clarified and the status of the territory discussed. Not everything happens as quickly as we want.

- Where is the process in Karabakh leading?

- The hot stage of the war is over. The Armenian Armed Forces have been withdrawn from the south and north of Karabakh, and state borders have been established. We need stability in Armenia, clarity in the position of Pashinyan, who has so far successfully resisted the opposition. The Armenian people support Pashinyan. I think that in February negotiations with Armenia will continue. The Minsk Group co-chairs will put forward new proposals. There will be progress in the establishment of Azerbaijani-Armenian interstate relations, which will affect the situation in Karabakh. So far, the situation is as follows: we returned all the areas around Nagorno-Karabakh, Shusha and part of the land in Nagorno Karabakh, and Pashinyan calls on the world to recognize the state in Nagorno Karabakh. Aliyev says there will be no autonomy. As a compromise between these two polarities, some form of territorial self-government may be agreed.

- How will the processes in the South Caucasus develop after Azerbaijan's victory?

- We observe a new reality - Armenians no longer consider themselves victors, now no one says that Azerbaijanis cannot fight. Armenia needs to establish good-neighborly relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, to revise its foreign policy. A new peace will be concluded in the South Caucasus with the participation of Turkey and Georgia, and the Great Peace Agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be signed. Some leaders in Armenia claim that it is impossible for our two peoples to live together. They are wrong. If favorable conditions had not been created for the Armenians in their time in Azerbaijan, the number of Armenians would not have increased in 150 years from several tens of thousands to almost a million people. The Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples coexisted in Karabakh, and if there are no outside provocations, as in the past, they will live in the future. I notice that the Armenian rhetoric is changing; they prefer to call us not enemies, but an adversary; the same does our side.

Azerbaijan and Armenia will open their borders. A World Roadmap will be prepared in 2021, and real peacekeeping processes will intensify in 2022. There is a European model of coexistence, I have repeatedly proposed to the Europeans to create in the South Caucasus a model of the European Union, which would become a guiding star for leaving the past, an incentive for future peaceful coexistence. No one wants to go back.

- What do you expect in the internal political life of Azerbaijan? Will civil society be restored; will the persecution of political opponents remain in the past?

- Victory is a good opportunity for the democratization of the country. In the war, the authorities and people, all politicians in our country united. Conditions have been created in Azerbaijan for reforming domestic political life. If we establish normal relations with Armenia, why not to make political reforms in Azerbaijan?

I think that the recent EU proposal to conclude a strategic agreement with Azerbaijan will become a reality next year. In my opinion, Baku, Europe and the United States have negotiated a specified sequence of events. Democracy in Azerbaijan was hampered by the Armenian occupation - this is how our authorities said. Now it declares about the liberation of Karabakh. There is a consensus in the country about the future events. The only correct path for the country is towards democracy, respect for the rule of law, human rights and freedoms. There is no other option.