Ilham Aliyev recommends European countries not to follow France's footsteps

The European Union should preserve neutrality on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace track, which was the case during the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, the President of Azerbaijan told the Belgian ambassador after receiving his credentials.

Yesterday, after receiving the credentials of new ambassadors to Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev held a separate conversation with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium Julien de Fraipont. Belgium was one of the ten founding members of the Council of Europe, and held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of 2024. In addition, Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, it is also the de facto capital of Europe. Therefore, relations with this country are important for Azerbaijan.

Brussels has been a venue for successful negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, supported by President of the European Council Charles Michel, and progress has been made there. However,  the Armenian side decided not to continue the Brussels process.

Why hasn't the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty been signed yet?

Ilham Aliyev noted that all provisions of the peace treaty hold equal value and cannot be separated from one another. Therefore, the Armenian government's proposal to "sign what has been agreed upon so far and leave the unagreed provisions for the next stages" is unacceptable for Baku.

"During the occupation of Azerbaijan's territories, the so-called "Madrid process and principles" were in place, with a key provision being that nothing would be agreed upon until all matters were resolved. This was the position held by then-OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and remains our stance. Unfortunately, some former Minsk Group members have changed their positions and now support Armenia's unrealistic proposals," the President of Azerbaijan said.

© Photo: Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza

According to him, the Armenian side portrays a desire for peace, even though they are aware that these suggestions are unacceptable.

"From 1992 to 2020, during the 28 years of occupation, no progress was achieved. Now, after two years of talks, patience and realism are required to achieve lasting peace in the South Caucasus,"  Ilham Aliyev said.

What does Baku expect from the EU?

Baku is convinced that the EU should preserve neutrality on the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace track, which was the case before.

"The European Union had never been active during the occupation of our lands. Back then numerous approaches to the EU and other European institutions were met with the response that the Minsk Group was responsible, and the EU had no involvement. However, the EU seems to be actively involved now," President of Azerbaijan said.

© Photo: Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza

He noted that they see that some figures in Brussels, at EU headquarters, took sides:

"This is counterproductive. This only creates mistrust and isolates the EU from the normalization process," Ilham Aliyev said.

© Photo: Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza

Aliyev recommended not to follow France's footsteps and not to find themselves under its influence:

"Because France's policy was absolutely destructive, and remains absolutely destructive, with respect to Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process," Ilham Aliyev said.

© Photo: Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza

What is binocular diplomacy?

And the last point on the EU-Azerbaijan, which increased certain mistrust, 

President Ilham Aliyev also stressed that one of the issues which increased certain mistrust between Azerbaijan and the EU was the way how the so-called “European observation mission” on the border was prolonged without any agreement or even consulting with Baku:

"Why was it necessary? Because Azerbaijan agreed in October 2022 in Prague that the mission was supposed to stay a couple of months with a limited number of retired military officers. But when the mission was prolonged, they did not consult with us. And now discussions are in progress for further extension. Behavior of the members of this mission, the so-called binocular diplomacy, was absolutely unacceptable and was beyond any standards of normal political culture and Azerbaijan will continue to raise these issues in its communications with the EU," Ilham Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan's cooperation with the EU

Ilham Aliyev noted that the EU-Azerbaijan agenda is quite broad including energy, transportation, green energy and trade. The EU remains Azerbaijan's main trading partner.

"It would be very regrettable if there is a setback towards the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan track. I hope our relations will continue to develop independently of the Armenia-Azerbaijan agenda," the President said.

© Photo: Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza

What is Belgium's position?

The new Belgian ambassador indicated Brussels' interest in regional stability concerning Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. Noting the recent progress in the normalization of Baku-Yerevan relations, the envoy emphasized Belgium's encouragement of the steps taken in this direction. At the same time, he reiterated Belgium's continued support for Baku and the activities of ANAMA in addressing Azerbaijan's challenges posed by landmines. In addition, he expressed Belgium's interest in cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the fields of energy transition, climate change, economy and trade.