2015 is coming to an end. These 12 months were full of all sorts of political and economic events. Azerbaijan is not an exception to the rule. A correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza asked experts from the country Rovshan Ibrahimov and Rasim Musabekov to sum up the main results of the year for the country.
The political scientist Rovshan Ibrahimov noted that "the situation in the international arena in 2015 significantly influenced the life of Azerbaijan."
"This is primarily due to the political situation, the war in Syria, the activities of Daesh, and certainly, the fight against terrorism. Directly or indirectly, it influenced Azerbaijan because a number of citizens took part in this struggle. Therefore, the republic is involved in these events and it closely follows them," he said.
"The situation has changed in the world after the beginning of the deterioration of relations between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between Russia and Turkey. The two events are directly related to Azerbaijan. In this sense, the country tried to continue its foreign policy as much as possible, trying minimally to participate in possible conflicts and at the same time act as a possible mediator in the settleent of the conflict,'' the analyst said.
Not everything was quiet in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "In comparison with previous years, the current ceasefire was violated more intensively. In this sense, Azerbaijan gave a resolute rebuff. It is worth a direct increase in the country's power, as well as Azerbaijan's military potential and the capabilities of its army. It was restless despite the fact that at the end of the year the presidents of both countries met in Switzerland to hold talks. It was a statistical meeting at the request of the OSCE Minsk Group, rather than a direct hope for a resolution of the conflict. I think that this meeting hasn't led to anything and in future we should not expect a quick resolution of the conflict. I believe that the situation won't be quiet on the front line,'' he predicted.
A deputy of the Milli Majlis, political scientist Rasim Musabekov, said that "2015 was a difficult year." "There was a very sharp fall in energy prices, which significantly affected the budget revenues of Azerbaijan. It is clear that the crises that occur near Azerbaijan – the Middle East tensions between Turkey and Russia, the confrontation between Russia and the US, influence the situation in the region. No one conflict is advanced in terms of a settlement. In general, we can say that the atmosphere in the region is not very positive," he explained his viewpoint.
"But despite this, Azerbaijan has preserved stability and prevented any jihadist threats on its own territory."
Parliamentary elections took place in a calm atmosphere in the country. The First European Games were prepared very well. As a country, Azerbaijan has fulfilled all its obligations to the population and, even in terms of difficult financial conditions, has managed to ensure economic growth,'' Rasim Musabekov concluded.
