"There is a number of fundamental principles, one of which is the territorial integrity of the UN member states. This principle is still in force, and I hope that international community will be able to reaffirm it," Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, quoted Antonio Guterres, who serves as UN Secretary General since January 1st. This was Tokayev's answer to the question about the need to respect territorial integrity principle during the round table "Hidden Problems of Eurasia" at the Munich Security Conference, the head of the European Office of Vestnik Kavkaza Orkhan Sattarov reports.
According to Tokayev, "Kosovo was qualified as a special case. Self-determination of peoples was applied to the so-called 'Kosovo's special case'. Then there were other cases. And we began the discussion about the integrity of territories. I think it should be expressed clearly, we must choose priority in these two main principles of the UN. Guterres said very clearly that territorial integrity of all countries must be respected."
"Territorial integrity principle is the prevailing principle in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act," President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during the round table. "Helsinki Final Act describes a very clear definition of territorial integrity and self-determination. Self-determination must not violate the territorial integrity of countries. This is a fundamental principle of international law. But we see double standards every week, every day. But in reality, rules and laws are not adhered to when it comes to small countries. Superpowers are free to interpret international law to fit their own national interests. They support territorial integrity when they feel like it, they support self-determination when they like it."
Aliyev believes that this situation is associated with the degradation of international institutions, in particular the UN, citing the example of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: "At the beginning of the 1990s permanent members of the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the withdrawal of Armenian troops [from the occupied territories], but they didn't pressure the aggressor to comply with these resolutions. How can you explain this? All of this is based on interests, not international law."
According to Ilham Aliyev, the most important question of the 21st century is - are there any mechanisms that can enhance international organizations' potential: "If we are free from complying with international obligations, then you should not attack small states, forcing them to execute certain decisions. Decisions are made for everyone. Eeveryone are equal."
Answering the question about whether moving towards multipolar world will help to resolve this problem, Aliyev noted: "Multipolar world has more room for maneuver. But at the same time, multipolarity can lead to secret agreements, which existed from the 20th century, when the world was divided by leading countries of the world. It all depends on how this multipolarity is used. It can used in personal interests and in order to control certain countries, or it can be used to establish relationship, productivity, respect for small and weak countries. I think we have enough reasons to worry about it today."
