An international conference under the motto “Along the Middle Corridor: Geopolitics, Security and Economy” has been held at ADA University, Baku.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the conference.

In his opening remarks, Rector of ADA University Hafiz Pashayev said:

-Excellency Mr. President,

Distinguished participants of the international conference. It is already the third time that ADA University and the Center for Analysis of İnternational Relations are jointly organizing an international conference in which President Ilham Aliyev honors us with his participation. This conference has become an important platform for discussing regional developments, with a special focus on the post-war peace-building process and reconstruction. Messages from this room became valuable agenda points for global analysts and researchers and for publications in world-renowned journals. We thank President Aliyev for the valuable time he spends with us today. This time, we have decided to focus on the issue of the Middle Corridor, which is a highly relevant and timely topic of today's regional focus. Azerbaijan’s geo-strategic location had always attracted attention from the times of the ancient Silk Road to modern times when national leader Heydar Aliyev had masterfully crafted the new energy map of greater Eurasia and successfully built energy corridors. It was not easy at all. It's a commercial and political crossroads for the region’s significant issues. Azerbaijan has always resisted efforts by those who wish to dominate it, regardless of where the efforts come from. I want to bring to your attention that in 2010, ADA University and Central Asia Caucasus Institutes at Johns Hopkins University published a research study on how to make Azerbaijan and the Caspian region a transit hub of the continent. President Ilham Aliyev’s long-term vision and tireless efforts to create a better synergy between Europe and Asia via Azerbaijan and the Caspian region have significantly contributed to this course. Azerbaijan’s 44-day Patriotic War and the liberation of the occupied lands have opened new opportunities for the regional transport corridors, including the Zangazur corridor and several other initiatives in this regard. We strongly believe today’s and tomorrow’s discussion will further enhance the regional transport and connectivity agenda and bring more sustainable peace to the region. Please allow me to thank all international experts for participating in these discussions. And now, with great appreciation to President Aliyev for his valuable time, I turn the floor to his Excellency. Please, Mr. President.

The head of state made a speech at the conference.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

-Thank you very much. First, I would like to express gratitude to our guests and international experts for being with us and addressing these important issues. Of course, special gratitude to ADA university for hosting this important event. As Mr. Pashayev already said, we gather here for the third time in recent history. The discussions we had previously and this time will contribute to a better understanding of regional realities, plans for Azerbaijan, and our interaction with the neighborhood. Today’s topic covers a particular issue of the Middle Corridor, but, of course, when I see how it is called “Geopolitics, Security and Economy,” of course, the coverage will be much broader, and this is natural. Because to implement such a large-scale project as the Middle Corridor, the issues of security and economic capability, of course, must be addressed since, without security and economic potential, it will be impossible to achieve the goal of full commissioning of the Middle Corridor which will be beneficial to all the countries in the region. One of the important elements for the implementation of any large-scale project is stability. Azerbaijan is a country that has enjoyed stability for many, many years, and this was one of the main factors in our economic development. The role which Azerbaijan plays now in the international arena is also generated by our internal politics. A strong economy, political and economic stability and predictability of the policy of our government - all these factors, along with building bridges and establishing closer relations with as many countries as possible, led to today’s reality. Therefore, political stability, security, and the economy are very important. Along with that, of course, what has every country part of the Middle Corridor done internally? In other words, what was the level of accomplishment of their homework to build physical transportation and logistics infrastructure? Azerbaijan’s geography is very well known. We are a landlocked country. We do not have direct access to oceans.

Therefore, whether it’s our energy or transportation projects, we need to work hard to achieve our target. At the same time, the advantage of our geographical location is that we are situated between Europe and Asia, in the middle, between the two continents, which allows us to play an important role in connectivity issues. But, of course, the physical availability of infrastructure was most important, and we have invested in that sector for many, many years. And now, when we look at our railroad connections and highway infrastructure, we see that everything in Azerbaijan is ready. Five years ago, we inaugurated the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad project with our partners. When we saw the growing cargo volume crossing our country, we started to invest in expanding the Georgian segment of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars. This project will cost us more than a hundred million U.S. dollars, and we plan to accomplish it within a year and maybe in a year and a half.

At the same time, other transportation projects like the North-South corridor will add synergy to the East-West corridor. So, Azerbaijan is actually the participant in both corridors and most of the transportation and logistics infrastructure with respect to these corridors in Azerbaijan is ready. What are we doing now? We are simply modernizing it. We are building new railway lines to increase the speed of the passenger and cargo trains. At the same time, we are investing in transportation infrastructure, particularly the air cargo transportation infrastructure. Our trade seaport, a relatively new element of transportation connectivity projects, will be expanded. From today’s 15 million tons up to 25 million tons because of the new geopolitical situation in the world and the necessity to transport more cargo through Azerbaijan. And also, we are in the process of completing our airport projects. After Lachin airport is ready, which will be the third airport in the liberated territories, the number of international airports in Azerbaijan will be equal to nine. Of course, this is not only for passenger transportation but also cargo transportation.

So, we expect rapid growth of cargo transportation through Azerbaijan, and we are ready for that. Suppose we add our potential with respect to the shipping infrastructure and the availability of a brand-new shipyard in Baku. In that case, we will see that we will definitely achieve what we planned. And to transport additional cargo from the eastern shores of the Caspian through Azerbaijan, of course, we will need to have new tankers, ferry boats, and cargo boats. So, I will conclude this introduction to leave more time for our discussions. Once again, welcome. I know that you will be visiting one of the liberated cities – Aghdam - and I am grateful for that. You will see the results of 30 years of the Armenian occupation with your own eyes. Thank you.

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President Ilham Aliyev then took questions from the conference participants.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Board Member of the Jamestown Foundation, Matthew Bryza: Hi, Mr. President, Matthew Bryza from the United States. In terms of the East-West corridor, Middle Corridor and specifically energy, how are things going in terms of Turkmenistan? Its gas is getting incorporated via Iran through swaps and across Turkiye, where there are some intense discussions of maybe private companies getting involved in the gas transit across Turkiye. Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, we are, of course, addressing this issue and looking at the broad prospects of cooperation. These transportation routes, which already are functioning, will allow all the countries of the Caspian region to be more integrated. Our cooperation with Turkmenistan has a very good history; today, we provide important transit for cargo from Turkmenistan. Even in our Trade Sea Port in Alat, we have allocated a special area, particularly for cargo from Turkmenistan. We started swap operations with respect to Turkmen gas. And the reason is that we are now facing growth in our industry and a significant need for additional gas volumes. The industry is growing, and the population is growing.

We are now in the process of active reconstruction of Karabakh and East Zangazur. Therefore, the demand for natural gas definitely will grow. What is necessary to be done, of course, we will continue our cooperation with foreign oil companies which plan to increase gas production from existing fields and also the new fields which will be operational starting from next year, particularly the vast gas condensate field – Absheron. Production will begin next year, and the first phase of production will be 1.5 billion cubic meters. Of course, there is a potential to increase by several times the production. At the same time, we need to expand the existing pipeline system, which also is brand new. We just completed, less than two years ago, the final segment of the Southern Gas Corridor – Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). But already today, we see the demand to expand the capacity twice - from ten to twenty billion cubic meters. That will require, of course, a consolidated position and investments of all shareholders. Azerbaijan has only a twenty percent share in TAP. Therefore, we hope that we get to that point with partners. And also the expansion of TANAP from 16 to 32 billion cubic meters. Because the capacity of TANAP is almost fully engaged. So, all that will need, of course, additional investments. Of course, we will need to have the transit arrangements with our Turkish colleagues. Without that, it will not be possible to satisfy the needs of European consumers and Turkish consumers growing needs. There is an opportunity now without losing time to engage the Trans-Balkan pipeline, especially after the interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria was inaugurated last month, and we are ready. The capacity of that pipeline is 3 billion cubic meters. So, we are ready to supply the necessary volumes within one month. But for that, we need a transit arrangement with Turkiye. Unfortunately, we have yet to get to that point. Negotiations continue. They last more time than we anticipated, but hopefully, we will come to an agreement. Because if it is not reached for some reason, then all our plans to supply additional gas to Turkiye and Europe will be under threat.

You know that this July, we signed an MoU with the European Commission to increase the supply twice. There is potential because, as I said, we plan to commission new gas fields in the coming years. I mentioned Absheron. I can mention Umid-Babak, Asiman, Shafag and many others. Second, there are serious reforms in our energy company SOCAR – new and corporate management. Transparency and efficiency will save us additional volumes of gas. And also, our projects have already started with international investors concerning renewables. Two projects are already in the pipeline. 470 megawatts of wind and solar energy will probably be available by the end of next year. Plus, a 230-megawatt solar plant in Jabrayil will be added to that. So, that will save us additional gas. In other words, we will be able to implement the MoU fully with the European Commission, which we signed in July, but for that, we need to finalize our arrangements with our Turkish friends, and I hope that it will be the case soon.

Executive Director of Center for Global and Strategic Studies of Pakistan Khalid Taimur Akram:

-Mr. President, my name is Khalid Taimur Akram, and I am from Pakistan. First of all, thank you very much for inviting us. I am here for the third time. In the last one and a half years, we have seen very intense diplomatic efforts by you in cooperating with Central Asia and with Pakistan and other Asian countries. You were there in Samarkand also, and in fact, you attended almost every reasonable platform in the last one and a half years. Before I move on to my question, I would like to thank you for exempting Pakistan from any taxes for the next five years. So, we are very grateful for that, and your gesture has been taken in a very, very positive for bringing up the trade between Pakistan and Azerbaijan.

I would now like to ask you how you have been dealing with this inflation in other Asian countries. Do you think the dream of connecting South Asia, Central Asia and Azerbaijan will be accomplished? Do you think Iran and Armenia will be creating any problems when the time comes? Or will they be going along with whatever the resident countries are doing? Because all these countries are making lots of efforts, we have seen you going everywhere talking to the world leaders, especially the regional country leaders. So, your comments on that.

President Ilham Aliyev: I met the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shehbaz Sharif, twice during the last couple of months. We discussed the agenda of our bilateral relations broadly, and this is an agenda of friendship and brotherhood. We are very grateful to Pakistan for the continuous support that the country demonstrates with respect to Azerbaijan-Armenia relations. During the times of occupation, during the war, and after the liberation of our territories, Pakistan was always with us. And this political and moral support is highly appreciated by the people of Azerbaijan.

We also discussed with Prime Minister how to intensify the economic and trade cooperation, and the decision which you referred to special regulations for rice from Pakistan reflects that. Because we decided to take this step to stimulate the growth of mutual trade. As we discussed with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, we need to see what kind of goods we can provide to each other and why we should buy rice from elsewhere if we have high-quality rice in the brotherly country. So that decision was clearly based on our brotherly relations. With respect to my contacts with leaders of the region, we have an excellent level of dynamism, especially now, after the pandemic, when international travel has again become part of our life. I spent much time in Central Asian countries. I visited Uzbekistan three times since this April, on an official visit and for international events, I visited Kyrgyzstan on a state visit. The President of Kazakhstan was on an official visit here this August, and also, before that, I visited Turkmenistan. I am planning to visit Tajikistan next year. I have an invitation from the President. Also, on the sidelines of international events, we always find time to talk because many things are happening, and we must be ready for that. Speaking at the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, I pointed to the security issue because now security has become more important than ever. And countries that have traditional ties must address this issue on their bilateral track and multilaterally and see how we can support each other because the world has changed. International law is not working or working selectively.

Therefore, if you have power, if you have a strong army, if you have good allies, then you can feel yourself on the safe side. I think the connectivity projects we are implementing will lead to more regional security and stability, and there is a great chance to accomplish them. Again, as far as we are concerned in Azerbaijan, everything is ready for all the transportation projects, whether East-West or North-South, railroads, highways, airports and a seaport. So, the same level of readiness must be in all the countries along the corridor route. Is it the case? No. But we see the positive dynamics. For instance, at one of the international events where I participated relatively recently, there was an agreement signed on the construction of a railroad between China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This project was on hold for many years. But now everybody understands that there is a need to bring cargo towards the Caspian to engage trans-Caspian opportunities to a large degree. Therefore, this project which is, as far as I know, financed by China, has a great chance to contribute largely to transportation.

We have excellent relations with Pakistan, and I know that the Gwadar Port of Pakistan is transforming into a big international hub. And connecting Gwadar Port with our infrastructure is not a difficult issue. There is a need to properly address the issue of tariffs, legal framework, coordination on regulation, and teamwork. For instance, we have started the trilateral format of active cooperation between Azerbaijan, Turkiye and Kazakhstan. The first meeting of foreign ministers and transportation ministers took place several months ago. Now the second meeting is upcoming, and our neighbor Georgia is invited. It will be a meeting of four countries because we are all interconnected and need a single policy. Because if any country tries to achieve more than it can, then it will not work.

What else have we done here? We have accumulated the synergy of our transportation entities because previously, there was a kind of corporate policy in these companies. I mean Azerbaijan Railroad, Sea Port, Caspian Shipping and some others. So, now we have full coordination, and the Ministry of Transport and Digital Development is coordinating this process. Therefore, there will be a single window in Azerbaijan, making it very easy for companies that want to use this route to have minimum bureaucracy. And, of course, the efficiency of our transportation companies. We have already introduced the corporate management criteria in all transportation companies. So, it is already bringing results.

You asked whether Iran and Armenia will be able to disrupt this process. I don’t think so. First, Armenia has neither geographical nor any other capability or advantages in the region. It’s actually a deadlock country. No transportation route crosses Armenia. Their transportation network is outdated and does not belong to them. Their railroads belong to “Rossiyskie Jeleznie Dorogi,” RJD - the Russian railroad company. Actually, we have discussions on the Zangazur corridor with Russia, not with Armenia, because Armenia is a satellite country. It’s a dependent country. Its independence is very symbolic, and we will not waste time negotiating with them. We are negotiating with Russia. By the way, during my recent communications with Russian officials, we discussed the Zangazur corridor, and I don’t think Armenia will be able to block this project. As far as Iran is concerned, I also don’t think that will be the case because Iran itself should be interested in regional connectivity projects. Because these projects are not against anyone. They are for the benefit. So, again if we manage to establish a platform of sincere cooperation and a shared benefit approach with all the players, it will work. If not, then it will probably work partially. So, it will depend, of course, on our interaction with our partners. But again, Azerbaijan is the geographical center of this project. As a country that already, as I said, has the entire infrastructure in place and a country that has good relations with different international actors, it understands its responsibility. It will do everything to move the project forward.

Chairman of the European Union-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, a former member of the European Parliament Sajjad Karim:

-Mr. President, thank you very much. Sajjad Karim, a former member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Azerbaijan:

Thank you, of course, for your time yet again. This dialogue is extremely useful, to say the least, for those of us engaged in relations with Azerbaijan. And may I start firstly by congratulating you on your decision to establish an Embassy in Tel Aviv. As a British conservative, I find myself in a position to very much welcome that. And as a country, support that decision that you have taken. Mr. President, your developments following the liberation of the territories or preceding exactly as you stated they would do in terms of a vision for Azerbaijan and the entirety of the South Caucuses. What I am interested in exploring a little more is digital connectivity and how that fits into your overall plan, not just for Azerbaijan’s liberated territories but for the South Caucasus. We are seeing at the global level three different versions emerging when it comes to data protection. U.S. model, the European model and then the Chinese model. Where do you see Azerbaijan fitting in terms of data protection? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much; the decision to open the Embassy in Israel and the representative office in Palestine is a decision made based on our national interests, and it reflects long-lasting cooperation with Israel and Palestine. And I’m sure that this decision will serve the cause of peace and is a formalization of long-lasting, friendly cooperation. And thank you for your support of that decision, because as we clearly understand, not every country in the region is happy about that. But our task is not to make happy those who have some prejudice; our task is to make our people happy. And to do what is right for Azerbaijan, and we are doing that. Regarding digital connectivity issues, yes, we understand the trends of the modern world. By the way, when we decided to change the name of our former Ministry of Technologies and Transport to Transport and Digital Development, that reflected reality. Because now, this is one of the most important elements of development and security. Which model we will choose is difficult to say for me. The experts and specialists will advise me because I am not a specialist in this area. But we will make a choice based again on the best practice, technology, and protection. Because we need to take care of cybersecurity because we see that more and more countries are becoming very vulnerable with respect to cyberattacks, even the countries with much more sophisticated technologies, and we are. Therefore, of course, we will seriously address this issue. But coming to your comments about the liberated territories, I’d like to say that we are applying in the liberated territories the latest technologies. And when I said right after the war two years ago that we would rebuild Karabakh and demonstrate a good example of reconstruction, I meant precisely that. And now it happened. We are building and reconstructing our citizens’ villages using smart technology. And the first village in Aghali is already inhabited. And everyone who visits can see what will be a model for the reconstruction of Karabakh. Because not only should it be the kind of reflection of our moral duty in front of the former refugees who suffered for thirty years from Armenian occupation and deserve to live a decent life and be fully protected but also we consider the reconstruction of Karabakh and Zangazur as a model for the whole country. We will then, or maybe already steadily, transfer technological experience and administrative management. Because in the liberated areas, we have a different administrative structure than in other parts of the country. The Institute of President’s Special Representatives is already installed in three regions and has proved very efficient. So we are testing the model not only of technological development and how then to transfer, but we are also testing the model of management. Therefore, of course, we will be very attentive and committed to digital transformation and make the best suitable choice for our people.

Ahmed Taher, Al-Hevar Center for Political Studies, Egypt

-Your Excellency, thank you very much for attending this meeting. You participated in the Arab League Summit in Algeria. We listened to your speech with pleasure. You emphasized the deep relations between Azerbaijan and Arab countries. My question is: How do you see the future of relations between Azerbaijan and Arab countries, particularly Egypt? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: It was a big honor to be invited to attend the summit of the Arab League, and I consider it a sign of friendship and respect. Earlier this year, I hosted the Secretary General of the Arab League, Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and we discussed our future cooperation. Also, we are now in the process of discussing and probably realizing the idea of establishing the office of the Arab League in Baku. We are ready to undertake all the necessary arrangements and to support this process because this will reflect the substance of our cooperation. We are grateful to member states of the Arab League for continuous support to Azerbaijan within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement and Islamic Cooperation Organization. During the times of occupation, several resolutions were adopted in our support, accusing Armenians of occupational policy and after the liberation. Therefore, we consider it a very obvious sign of support. We also actively work on strengthening the solidarity between the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. We held several international events here. During the pandemic, we provided financial and humanitarian assistance to more than 80 countries, including countries of the Arab League and Islamic Cooperation Organization. We know that there is significant potential, but we need to identify the main areas of economic cooperation because everything is clear regarding political interaction. We are friends, and my participation at the Summit reflects that. But in the trade and economic area, our performance, of course, cannot be satisfactory. And coming to our relations with Egypt, these relations have a good history since the early years of Azerbaijan’s independence. We actively communicate in political, economic, trade, and tourism areas. I visited Egypt on an official visit, and the President of Egypt also visited Azerbaijan on an official visit many years ago. So, we also had this format of cooperation, and I think that this cooperation’s potential is very, very big. Thank you.

Energy Security Expert from Scotland John Roberts:

My question is a follow-up to Matthew Bryza’s question. How far advanced are your talks with BP on developing the deep level of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field and expanding production in Shah Deniz? I will be cheeky perhaps than ask you: What keeps you awake at night?

President Ilham Aliyev: Well, at night, I sleep well. I don’t wake up. No, this is true. There is no reason for me to wake up at night, especially now, in this peaceful environment that Azerbaijan has lived in for more than two years. Already without the burden of occupation, without the risk of escalation. Because you probably heard that even during the times of occupation, high-ranking Armenian officials were threatening us that they were planning a new war for new territories. That was a quote from the former Armenian Defense Minister who is now imprisoned by Mr. Pashinyan. But that was an open threat to Azerbaijan. There were other very arrogant comments like “if the war starts, Armenian tanks will be in the streets of Baku.” But actually, this arrogant comment became a reality. Armenian tanks were in the streets of Baku but as part of a military parade, and now they are in the Military Trophy Park. So, after this glorious victory, there is no reason not to use the night for sleep.

With respect to our plans with bp, of course, we are continuing our cooperation. bp is a strategic investor in Azerbaijan and, as you know, an operator of ACG and Shah Deniz. It has plans to expand its activity. Projects like deep gas from ACG are now needed more than ever. I know that negotiations between bp and SOCAR on this project are moving very successfully. There has been a certain delay in previous times due to some miscommunication of SOCAR management with Azerbaijani governmental officials. But now everything is clear. So, gas is needed for the market, and it is time to engage this vast potential. Because deep gas from ACG is a big separate gas field. Also, you know about the energy transition of energy companies. So, bp is also leading the process, and their decision to invest in a solar plant in liberated Jabrayil is highly appreciated. So, it is not only a sign that they are leading the process of international companies in Azerbaijan with respect to renewables, but the choice of a liberated territory for us has a special meaning. Therefore, we are very grateful. 230-megawatt solar plant will be the first renewable facility in the liberated territories. We already have a preliminary, accurate analysis of the potential of Karabakh and East Zangazur. So, solar and wind potential is a minimum of 9.200 megawatts, and hydro potential is a minimum of 600 megawatts. More than 30 small and medium hydropower stations will be built on the liberated territories. Five of them are already commissioned. So, this is considerable potential. As I said previously, the more energy we produce from renewables, the more gas we save for the international market. So, it is a win-win situation. So, I am sure that other major energy companies will concentrate not only on the Caspian Sea potential because we found out that the Caspian Sea has the second potential after the North Sea with respect to wind energy. But energy companies will also turn their sight as bp did to Kalbadjar and Lachin, where we have a huge wind potential, and to Jabrayil, probably the sunniest part of our country.

Director of Middle Eastern Studies Center (ORSAM) Turkiye, Ahmet Uysal:

-Thank you, Mr. President. I see it’s very obvious that Azerbaijan has shown good diplomatic activity recently in energy, and security areas, especially in the Organization of Turkic States. What can you say about Azerbaijan's activity with Africa, and third-world countries, including East Asia? Thank you. Also, any hints about Azerbaijan-Turkiye relations? We must strengthen and expand our relations in the future. Your views on this would be interesting.

President Ilham Aliyev: If I start to talk about Azerbaijani-Turkish relations, we will need several days to spend here. The vision is absolutely clear. We are brothers and friends; we are allies. Last year in Shusha, we formalized actually what has already been achieved. We officially became allies by signing the Declaration on Allied Relations. Once again, it was just a formalization of the reality because Azerbaijan and Turkiye acted like allies for many years. We highly value this level of cooperation, partnership and brotherhood. We are absolutely sure that our cooperation will only strengthen in all the areas. This is a significant factor of regional stability because Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation and actions in the region aim to strengthen regional stability, and this factor must be taken into account by all. Because we, two countries, combine our potential, we are stronger than when we are separate. This is clear. The potential of Turkiye is growing. The potential of Azerbaijan is growing. Not only economic and industrial but also military. Today’s world demonstrates that this is the factor number 1 for every country. You will probably suffer bitter days if you don’t have strong military forces. So, investments in defense infrastructure, joint initiatives, and joint military training. We regularly have more than ten joint military training with Turkiye during one year in Turkiye, Azerbaijan. So, this is an essential factor of regional stability and our security. All those who have sordid plans against Azerbaijan or Turkiye should know that the Turkish army is not only the Turkish army, but it is our army, and our army is not only our army, but it is the Turkish army. All those who plan provocations on our border trying to frighten us should never forget it. With respect to countries of Africa, we are now more actively working with countries of the African continent. The decision to open the embassy in Israel and a representative office in Palestine also was a component of the decision to open an embassy in Albania and Kenya, an African country. We have an Ambassador to the African Union, who is at the same time the Ambassador to Ethiopia. And our interaction, of course, has been much more dynamic since we undertook chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement back in 2019. And at the summit held in Azerbaijan, I said that we would be defending the national interests of member-states, justice and international law. And a unanimous decision by 120 countries to extend our chairmanship until 2023 reflects the support and respect from countries, including African countries, shown to us. During the time of the pandemic, as I said, we provided assistance to more than 80 countries, most of them countries of the African continent. At the same time, we donated 10 million U.S. dollars to the World Health Organization apart from the donations to African countries. So, I think that they also understand that Azerbaijan is a friend. So, the fact that the Non-Aligned Movement supports us and we plan to organize another summit in Azerbaijan in the spring of next year demonstrates the immense potential for that.

Senior Policy Analyst at European Policy Center, Amanda Paul:

-Thank you, good morning, Mr. President. I would like to ask you to elaborate on your relationship with the European Union. I mean, what are the priority areas? How do you see the role of the EU in the mediation process with Armenia, particularly of Charles Michel? And a second question is also related to the EU. You were at the recent summit in Prague, launching the European political community. What is your perception of this new initiative? Because it still seems to be unclear to many people. And last but not least, how do you see the future of the Eastern Partnership? Is there life left in it, or is it dead?

President Ilham Aliyev: Many important questions, so I will try to address them. First, our relations with the EU. This is one of our foreign policy priorities, and I have publicly spoken about that many times. We consider the EU as our very important partner. We are now in the final stage of consultations with respect to the new agreement, which is almost 90 percent ready. Several unresolved issues remain, but by demonstrating mutual goodwill, we can achieve that and sign an essential document with the EU. You know that Azerbaijan did not join the association format. We did not sign the association agreement, as some other countries of the Eastern Partnership did. We gave preference to the bilateral format.

With respect to the Eastern Partnership, we supported it from the beginning of this initiative, but our position was very clear. We consider it as one of the elements of our cooperation with the EU but not as a platform for cooperation with other member-states. Because the six member-states of the Eastern Partnership have different geopolitical priorities, a different geography and a different, how to say, situation. And two of them, Azerbaijan and Armenia, were at war. Concerning the future of the Eastern Partnership, I am not very optimistic, frankly speaking. I recently received a big group of European representatives traveling here and to Armenia and discussing our future ideas. So every initiative is good for its time. The Eastern Partnership started in 2009 if I am not mistaken. So it is almost 15 years now. It is not for granted that it should continue like that. Because especially now; if you look at these six countries of the Eastern Partnership, you will see even more differences between them than ever before.

The European political community platform is new. We have been invited, and I actually participated. I was satisfied with how it was organized. It was organized in a very professional way. There was an opportunity to have a very sincere discussion off the record and address critical issues. So as a platform, it was successful. With respect to its future, my impression from the Prague meeting is that even the initiators of this platform have yet to determine what the future will be. It is in the process. And this is probably natural. Because you can expect that everything is already pre-organized and you have these directives on what will happen next. The good thing is that the decision was made to hold these summits every six months. So this, I think, is a good sign. Because if it was yearly, you know, you come, meet, forget, go home, and everything is stuck. So every six months will allow us to have more dynamism. The next meeting will be held in Moldova, which is a wise decision to have this meeting not in an EU member state. So we will see. We are glad we were invited, and if we are invited to the next summit, we will participate.

Concerning the mediation by the European Union and Mr. Charles Michel, we supported it from the beginning. Because we thought that after the funeral of the Minsk Group, there must be some platform. Because we need to have some institution to help us and Armenia to come to certain agreements. And the initiative of President Charles Michel was timely. And you know that we have had several rounds of meetings in Brussels. And I think that all of them were successful. We adopted a press release after the meeting, which helped us formulate the formula for a settlement. Because after the Second Karabakh War, there have been certain illusions in Armenia that they will continue to talk to us about Karabakh. And we said from the very beginning that this was absolutely out of the question. We will not talk about Karabakh with any country or international institution. The Karabakh conflict has been resolved. It is our territory recognized by all and our internal matter. So we needed to formalize that, and it happened. Let's go back to the Prague meeting and look at the communique. We will see that Armenia officially recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty for the first time, which means sovereignty over Karabakh. Also, in the Prague press release, there was a reference to the Almaty declaration of 1991, which formalized the administrative borders of former Soviet republics. That means that speculations about some status or whatsoever for the Karabakh Armenians are out of the question. So, it was important to come back to the EU format because we also managed, due to the interactions in Brussels, to agree that we separate two tracks. One is the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations on the peace treaty, and the other track is our communications with representatives of the Armenian minority in Karabakh with respect to addressing only two issues: rights and security. And that was agreed. What I am trying to say is that this event produced a result. The meeting in Prague had a little different format because President of France Macron joined our group. And, well, I will end my comments here. But again, the result of the Prague meeting was successful for us because Armenia again recognized Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. I can tell you one more thing which has not yet been disclosed, but it probably will be. The next meeting in Brussels was supposed to be held on 7 December. Because at the last meeting, we agreed to meet in November, but then we had a meeting in Sochi organized by President Putin at the end of October. So it was supposed to be held on 7 December. Still, yesterday I got information from Hikmat Hajiyev that he was communicated from the office of Charles Michel and informed that Prime Minister Pashinyan agreed to the meeting on one condition – that President Macron also should participate. Of course, it means that this meeting will not take place because of what happened after Prague. The Prague meeting was on 6 October, and then less than a week later, President Macron, in his interview, attacked Azerbaijan and accused us of what we hadn’t done. After that, there was this famous French Senate resolution, which was absolutely unacceptable and insulting. Now there will be another resolution of the National Assembly of France of the same anti-Azerbaijani origin. And then there was an attempt by France to attack us through the Francophonie summit, which is absolutely unacceptable because Francophonie is a humanitarian organization. It never dealt with issues like that. We have the initial text, a draft text of the France-Armenia tandem, full of insinuation, accusations and insults. But we have friends not only in the Non-Aligned Movement. Some of them, by the way, are members of Francophonie and also in Europe. So, this anti-Azerbaijani resolution was canceled, or they adopted something formal. So taking all that into account, it is clear that under these circumstances and with this attitude, France cannot be a part of a peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. And it wasn’t us who cut them from this format. It was them because neither Russia nor the United States, other former Minsk Group co-chairs, never took, officially I mean, sides in the post-war period – only France. So that means that the meeting in Brussels on 7 December will not take place. We will see what alternatives we have, who will be a kind of a mediator or facilitator, or where the platform will be. I also consider this decision of the Armenian Prime Minister – because they could have imagined that we would be against it – as an attempt to undermine the peace process. Because the peace process will lead to the signing of the peace agreement in which they will have to admit that there is nothing about Karabakh. And in all the press releases – whether adopted in Sochi or Brussels – there is no reference to Karabakh. That’s why the Armenian side probably decided to use the old tactic they used during the occupation to make this process endless without any result-oriented scenario. So if it is their choice, what can we do? We cannot force them to sign it. That means that there will be no peace treaty. That means that there will be no peace. And if there is no peace, then what do we have? So I think I have covered all your questions.

Senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Hudson Institute, United States, Michael Doran:

Thank you very much, Mr. President. It is a great pleasure and honor to be here. I’d like to ask you about the relations with the Azerbaijanis in Iran. You recently made some very interesting statements about your concern for the Azerbaijanis at home and beyond your borders. You have made statements about the power of the Turkish-Azerbaijani relationship. As this alliance between Turkiye and Azerbaijan develops, I can see how it can bring significant benefits to Azerbaijanis beyond your borders. It can bring great benefits even to my own country. I am not sure that the people running the country recognize that. If you could talk about any of that and how you see that developing - the relationship with the Azerbaijanis beyond your borders, I would be very interested. And I was struck by your comments that the peace process is stalled. But you also said that you were negotiating with Russia about the Zangazur corridor. Can you imagine the Zangazur corridor proceeding without the peace agreement with Armenia? And what do the Russians want in return? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. To answer your question comprehensively, I need to go back. Right after the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan and Turkiye were advocating for broader regional cooperation, including connectivity projects and more. Therefore, this formula, 3+3, was introduced. That means Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia as South Caucasus, Turkiye, Iran and Russia. Even though the post-war situation led to the creation of a joint monitoring center in Aghdam – the Turkish-Russian joint monitoring center, which meant that these two countries of the region would play a role in the future configuration of the region. However, during and after the Second Karabakh War, we didn’t see any activity from Iranian representatives; we said we needed to have an inclusive scenario. Therefore, Iran was invited, and Georgia was invited too. Georgia had reservations because they said that they could not participate in a platform where Russia is also a participant because of the situation in the separatist provinces in Georgia. Iran supported that, and we considered it a good sign that we will finally come together and address critical issues, including corridors because all of us are interested in those corridors. If we look at the map now, especially considering what we were talking about earlier, the need for additional cargo and the need to have additional routes. When we started to advocate for the Zangazur corridor, the Russian-Ukrainian war hadn’t started yet. The traditional transit route from China to Europe was not blocked. Now the situation is different, and the route through the Caspian and Zangazur has particular importance. So it could be a win-win situation for every country because a part of this railroad will eventually enter Iran through the city of Julfa, where there is a railroad connection between Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. And Armenia will also be engaged, so Armenia will eventually have a railroad connection with Iran, which they don’t have now. It will never have because the geography of the Armenia-Iran border and the need to build tunnels will bring the cost of this railroad to a minimum of 3-5 billion U.S. dollars. Who is going to invest in this project? No-one. The only way for Armenia to have a railroad connection with Iran is through us. The only way for Armenia to have a railroad connection with Russia is through us. Because the traditional route through separatist Abkhazia is blocked. The Georgian government is unwilling to open it, and it is natural; we understand that. So it is in Armenians’ interests to have this corridor more than ours. Because with respect to our connections with Turkiye, we use Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and we use Georgian seaports. With respect to communication with Nakhchivan, we use Iranian territory. Nakhchivan has a border with Turkiye. We can have a connection through Georgia – Turkiye and Nakhchivan. So we suggested this 3+3 format taking into account all these advantages. And, of course, we will have a connection with Nakhchivan via a railroad and highway. But unfortunately, it got stuck because, unfortunately, some Iranian officials' recent steps and actions are absolutely counterproductive. We cannot understand the origin of this dissatisfaction. On the one hand, everybody must be satisfied that the long-lasting stand-off between Azerbaijan and Armenia has come to an end. This means that there will be regional stability and potential cooperation. To be unhappy about that – we do not understand the geopolitical reasons for that. During the occupation, the Iranian armed forces never held any military exercises on the border with Azerbaijan, which was occupied. They could have done that. A 132-kilometer section of the Azerbaijani border was under occupation. And this is a border between Azerbaijan and Iran. Why didn’t they hold military exercises on that border? Iranian officials, including very high-ranking personalities, said that Armenian territorial integrity is a red line for Iran. Why none of them said the same about us? For 30 years, our territory was under occupation. Did anyone hear from Iranian officials that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is a red line? No. These are the questions the Azerbaijani people are asking. It is not only me who asks these questions. Every Azerbaijani who cares about his country asks these questions. And we cannot get an answer. Therefore, everything happening between Iran and Azerbaijan now was not generated by us. We are only responding and will respond to any anti-Azerbaijani steps, whether in words or actions. And we had to organize military exercises on the Iranian border to demonstrate that we were not afraid of them. And we are telling them that we are not afraid. We will do everything to protect our lifestyle and the secular development of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis, including Azerbaijanis in Iran. They are a part of our nation.

I can give you another example. We have 340 schools in Azerbaijan where lessons are conducted in the Russian language. We have 10 Georgian schools in Azerbaijan. There are 116 Azerbaijani schools in Georgia, although there is something like 200,000-300,000 Azerbaijanis in Georgia. There are Armenian schools in Iran. But there are no Azerbaijani schools in Iran. How can that happen? And if someone says that this interferes with internal affairs, we absolutely reject that. This is not an interference in internal affairs. Azerbaijan’s foreign policy is very clear – we never interfere in the internal affairs of any country. But this is a part of society that has the exact ethnic origin, speaks the same language and has the same values as us. How can we be indifferent to that? Why can’t they learn their language at school? They are losing the language, you know. The problem is that. We are raising it because the Azerbaijani language spoken in Iran is losing its literary component. It has become a language people speak at home. This issue must be addressed. And I am raising this issue also because this is a concern for us. I hope that the pro-Armenian actions of the Iranian government will not damage the fragile peace. I think there will be more understanding of the necessity to consider the feelings of the Azerbaijanis and our interests. And one last thing to illustrate that it wasn’t us who generated this situation. I worked with three previous Iranian presidents – President Hatami, President Ahmadinejad and President Rouhani. And never, during all these years, did we have anything similar to what we have now. Never has there been military training, two exercises within several months, on our border with words full of hatred and threats to Azerbaijan. Never! So, it means that we were not the generator of this situation. We want this situation to end sooner than later. We want peace and friendly relations with all our neighbors, but at the same time, we will always defend our dignity, independence and lifestyle. We will not allow any foreign player to impose its standards and will on our government and our people.

Doctor, Professor, University of Utah, United States, Hakan Yavuz:

Thank you. Mr. President, I would like to congratulate you on freeing the occupied territories and ending the shame of the Azerbaijani nation because of what happened in the last 30 years. I was in Shusha, and I saw the destruction of the major cultural center. And there was nothing constructed at the same time. One wonders what they did in the last 30 years in those territories. Mr. President, as a scholar, you wrote your dissertation in 1985 on “Peace movement in Great Britain.” And in your dissertation, you talk about the social basis of the anti-war movement in Great Britain. Now, as a scholar of a peace movement, not as a president, I would like to ask you. What do you see as a major society-level problem for creating a peace mentality in this region? Because you also rightly argue that peace requires a certain model of thinking and positioning yourself. I would like to know what you see at the societal level as an obstacle to creating regional peace. And also, as a scholar, I think Azerbaijan should lead a working group about a textbook for the region. I read some of the textbooks in Armenia. They are so negative. I agree that roads are important, as are transportation and railroads. But we also need to create this mentality as you deal with it in your own dissertation. I think Azerbaijan should call on all regional governments to examine their high school, middle school and elementary school textbooks and see how they can change and create this mentality of peace. My second question. I am trying to understand Armenian nationalism. Some of my work deals with the origin of Armenian nationalism, especially in the Ottoman Empire. So, I follow Armenian political thinking. I think the Second Karabakh War did not only liberate the occupied territories. It also opened a new space in Armenian political thinking inside the country. Scholars such as Richard Liberidyan and others seek to question what kind of state we need. Do we need a state guided and shaped by the so-called past injustices or a state that cares about its national interests? I have tried to examine some of Pashinyan’s positions. As a scholar of Armenian nationalism, I think Pashinyan is difficult to make sense of from my perspective. Since you met with him so many times, I want to know what Pashinyan wants and why he changes seven times a day. Is it because of Russia, France and Iran? Or is it Pashinyan who is actually manipulating these powers, not the regional powers manipulating him, but he? What is your take on this issue? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. I will try to address all your questions. First of all, thank you for visiting Shusha and the liberated territories. So you have seen everything with your own eyes. Everyone who has visited Shusha, especially right after the war, because now Shusha is changing. We are rebuilding it, we are restoring it, and massive restoration works are taking place. But when I visited Shusha right after the war, apart from all the other feelings which each of us has approaching Shusha, the feelings of pride, dignity and, at the same time, sorrow that we were not able to be there for so many years, one feeling that shocked me was that if they thought that it was their city, why is it in such a bad shape? Because one cannot treat own city like that. No single building was restored, or a single building built there. Only two villas are sitting on Lachin road, overseeing it. Two villas of the so-called Karabakh leaders were built for them – with swimming pools, with a barbecue area. And everyone visiting these two villas can again see the hypocrisy and kleptocracy of the so-called Karabakh officials. Because not only Shusha – I have often visited the villages where Armenians were settled illegally during the times of occupation. And I was absolutely shocked by what I saw. You will never find it in any part of Azerbaijan devastation like that. It is extreme poverty as if you go back to the 60s or 70s of the previous century. And my question was where the millions and billions of dollars Armenians collected yearly were. Every year they held TV marathons to collect money from Armenians in America, France and other parts of the world. And in every marathon, they collected some 50 or 100 million dollars in the United States. Where is this money? Where is the money of the so-called Armenian philanthropists who presented themselves as donators? So, everybody who visits Shusha can see that this is an ancient Azerbaijani city, and now it belongs to our people, as it should be.

With respect to my dissertation, thank you for paying attention to that. You are right. Its theme was the anti-war movement in Great Britain and the position of political parties. But that was a dissertation written in a different country. That was the Soviet Union. It was 1985. And, of course, it was full of ideological stereotypes of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. I can tell you one other thing. As a student at Moscow State University for International Relations, I was sent to London for a diplomatic internship at the Soviet Embassy. It was 1981. And it was a time when this anti-war movement was gaining strength. There were massive rallies. There were very prominent personalities, including priests. One of them was the head of an NGO called the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). And it was a really serious political force. It was backed by the then Labor Party and its famous leader Michael Foot who was a frequent guest at the Soviet Embassy in London. I am a witness to that. So, the anti-war movement in the UK at the time, even though it had a very good agenda, a world without nuclear weapons, was to a certain degree associated with Soviet connections and Soviet propaganda. I am not sorry for what I wrote. I was also a member of the Communist Party at the time. I tried to be objective to the maximum extent. I don’t know to what degree I managed to do that. Sorry for bothering you with these details.

You have also asked a very important question. This is a question that doesn’t or questions that don’t have an answer. First of all, peace mentality in the region. Armenian society was poisoned for decades. The propaganda of the diaspora and Armenian nationalists poisoned them. And one of the reasons they committed these brutal acts against the Azerbaijanis and why they destroyed our cities, for instance, Aghdam, Shusha, Fuzuli and others, is that nationalists and the diaspora brainwashed them. Because we didn’t do anything harmful to them. Even if we wanted to, we had no time. Aghdam was occupied at the beginning of the 1990s. So, why was there so much hatred? Why did they dig out graves? Why did they destroy mosques? The answer is that their education is poisonous. They raise their children in an atmosphere of hatred towards Turkiye and Azerbaijan. So, Turkophobia and Azerbaijanophobia is their ideology. And also, they have invented so many legends about their history and their historical personalities that they started to believe in these fairy tales. All their history and all their historical products are fake. They take the history of other nations and present it as their own history. And I think this ideology has led them to a disaster because, at a certain moment, they really started to think that they are the bravest soldiers, the greatest nation, the cradle of civilization and the center of the world. This damaged reality played a bad joke on them. So, the result of the war was a kind of cold shower for them. They did not expect it to happen. They did not expect to be so humiliated by this defeat. And they admitted that they had more than 10,000 deserters who ran away during the war. What is happening now, I hope, could be a remedy because they need treatment. Their society needs psychological assistance. I am not trying to insult them. Absolutely not! I am only stating what I feel and witness during this post-war period. And the voices we are hearing now about peace and the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan – we didn’t hear those voices during the times of occupation. During the occupation, the previous president of Armenia, war criminal Serzjik Sargsyan, in one of the meetings with a young group, was asked about the historical territories of Armenia, the so-called historical territories. He said we had liberated Karabakh, and you will liberate that part of Turkiye. You see how inadequate one can be – I am trying to find the word. To have territorial claims to Turkiye, which has the second army in the world and is a country with an independent foreign policy, everybody in the world has to take it into account. Even Sweden and Finland have to consider Turkiye’s legitimate demands for putting an end to sheltering terrorists. And this small, impoverished and dependent Russian satellite or even Russia’s slave says that one day they will occupy Turkish territory. So, this is poisonous conscience. And the war for them is a chance to get rid of that, a chance to get rid of their manipulation with international public opinion, to invent stories about their great history and great nation.

With respect to Pashinyan, my comments will probably be inappropriate, but just some piece of information, very objective and then, as some say - no comments. During the time of occupation, I had several meetings with Mr. Pashinyan. I have already spoken once about our first meeting in September 2018 in Dushanbe at the summit of CIS countries. By the way, it was on 27 September. Exactly two years later, the Second Karabakh War started. I don’t want to go into many details, but after that meeting, we agreed that we would strengthen the ceasefire regime on the border and we would stop shooting, and it happened. It happened for one year. It was the quietest period when there were almost no casualties. But what happened after that? He probably thought it was a sign of weakness, and these famous statements came: “Karabakh is Armenia” and “New war for new territories.” And then there were provocations in July, August, etc. What he says now is different from what he said at that time. And I always ask: did they really need this war to understand who is who? I was trying to explain; I was trying to say that we will never tolerate this situation, that our patience is coming to an end, and that we will destroy you. This is my quote. If the war starts, we will destroy you. And it was not a kind of sign of some bravery or propaganda. This was a reality. We knew what we could do and what they were capable of. And even if they had physical military support from other countries, that would not have stopped us. We were motivated. We were ready to die rather than continue like that.

But now we see a change in rhetoric. Now they want to normalize relations with Turkiye. And we say that we support that. We do not object. On the contrary, we want these two tracks to run parallel to one another: Turkish-Armenian normalization and Azerbaijani-Armenian normalization. Now they are talking about peace, etc. I am still determining to what degree it is sincere and whether they will need another cold shower to be treated completely and get rid of this poisonous brainwashing. But they need to change the whole paradigm of their education. They need to change their ideological grounds. It is painful, but they have to do it. Otherwise, they will be lost entirely. And they understood, especially after yesterday’s summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization members, when Mr. Pashinyan made a very undiplomatic and, I would say, harmful for himself demarche against his colleagues. He understands that if we want, we can do a lot. And no one can stop it. The thing is that we don’t want it. We want peace. We want them to understand that they have nothing to do or say about Karabakh Armenians. We want the Zangazur corridor and border delimitation based on historical maps – not the maps they are trying to introduce. This is not much. We don’t want their territory, and we don’t want any war. If we had wanted it, we would have done it. And no one can stop us – neither his sponsors in Western Europe nor to the south of their border, nor the east of their border.

Senior Associate Researcher, Institute for European Studies of Brussels University, Koert Debeuf:

-Thank you very much, Mr. President, for your time and frankness. We met for the first time 16 years ago, during a lunch in the Belgian parliament after you met with the Belgian Prime Minister. And back then, we were all fascinated by your explaining the psychology of the Kremlin. And everything you predicted that would happen in the following years actually came true. So, I want to ask you again; I know it is a big question, but what will happen in this conflict with Ukraine now? What is the psychology of the Kremlin in the next coming months and perhaps years? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: I think nobody knows what will happen. We are not directly involved, and our information is mainly from open sources. But as far as we see international development with respect to this war, it is unpredictable. The most important question, I think, is when it ends and how it ends. And a lot in the world will depend on that. Therefore, it would be very irresponsible to comment about how it will continue. It depends on a variety of factors. It depends on the policy of the Russian government, the policy of the Ukrainian government and the western alliance which backs the Ukrainian army. So there must be an understanding that the war must come to an end. I think this is number one. And, of course, Azerbaijan always in all the international fora spoke in favor of the territorial integrity of all the countries, and we remain in this position. We have suffered from the violation of territorial integrity. Therefore, territorial integrity is a fundamental principle of international law. Another thing is that there is a selective approach to the territorial integrity of different countries. I can tell you that during the times of occupation, we were always disappointed to a certain degree, to put it mildly, that conflicts in the post-Soviet area were treated differently. With respect to the conflict in Georgia and Moldova, even before Ukraine, there was an absolutely clear articulation of support for the territorial integrity of these countries. In the case of Azerbaijan, we never heard this straightforward approach or statement from mediators. The narrative was that you have to agree. That was the public narrative. And the messages we sometimes received during private negotiations were that this is a reality and that every country should take into account the reality. And when we were asking what
about the UN Security Council resolutions, there was no answer; what about territorial integrity, there was no answer. What about the Helsinki Final Act?
There was no answer. And we said, fine if this is the reality, we will change this reality. And we started to prepare ourselves to change reality. And that is how it happened. It was not international law, not the United Nations, and not Armenia’s constructive approach that changed the situation. It was our army, our people and our political will. So, realities must be changed. Do you have the power to do it? If yes, you do it; if not, you accumulate power. If you want a quiet life, you agree with this reality. Our choice was different. I was asked about sleepless nights. Yes, I had many of them during the occupation because of the feeling of anger, not because something will happen, but because of the feeling of anger and understanding that this injustice is how the world is being regulated. And my belief in justice only happened after we won the war. I started to believe in justice again. Therefore, I don’t know what the end will be. What we have done is clear. How we approached the situation of restoration of our territorial integrity is also known. So, you have to be strong. Unfortunately, this is the outcome of 21 st -century international relations. Forget about resolutions, statements and good words. They are worth nothing: you, your people, your army and your feeling of justice.

Professor, US Naval Postgraduate School, Brenda Shaffer:

-Thank you for hosting us. It is wonderful to be here, and thank you for sharing your time with us. I have two questions. For 30 years of its strategic projects, Azerbaijan sees demand and needs ahead of time and strategically, often more than international oil companies and foreign governments. Take, for example, the Southern Gas Corridor. Azerbaijan identified that Europe is going to have increased natural gas demand even when European institutions thought that their needs would be modest. I remember doing the FID of a project that turned into a mega gas project. It was believed that everything was going to be on LNG and renewables. But Azerbaijan understood, built scalable infrastructure, double capacity, and already within two years of operation, the demand was in place from Europe. Another infrastructure project that I had the honor of visiting this week was in Zangilan. Suppose someone looks today and says, who needs an airport here? Why here in this corner where these beautiful homes are being built in this modern city? Of course, for justice, as you mentioned, for refugees going back – we always hear about the suffering of refugees, about injustice. Still, I never recall a situation where refugees actually go home. And it is very exciting to see this. But I believe there must be some vision here, similar to the Southern Gas Corridor and the BTC. Where do you see the greater region around Zangilan in 10 years? Who will be using that airport? Will it be the cities of northern Iran, or will it be eastern Turkiye? How do you
see that region developing?
And then my second question. We are seeing tremendous and significant developments in Muslim-majority countries. We can say everything from the Abraham accords, which shifted the Middle East's cooperation and transportation lines. If Iran was standing up for Muslims, it is very clear that after 30 years of occupation, as you said, not one word was said about the occupation. Having economic projects like the Khudaferin hydropower plant and Giz Galasi hydropower plant in the occupied territories, or even restoring or building parts of mosques in Shusha. Iran doesn’t speak for Islamic solidarity anymore. We see Turkiye’s shift in building militaries in many Muslim-majority countries. Saudi Arabia’s main cooperation on oil is with Russia, not other OPEC producers. And Iran is basically calling itself Shia, but how could Shia, and how could a truly religious government shoot women in the head and treat women the way they are treated? Are we seeing a new model, especially among Shia Muslims, developing? There is no longer looking to Qom, maybe looking to Najaf, looking to other places or maybe a completely different model like, for instance, the model of Azerbaijan where there is a very secular government and secular state institutions but religious and believing people, which is actually more connected with traditional Islam where religious leaders were not governors but were separate from state institutions? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. You have touched upon some very important issues. Answering these questions, I want to say that our strong belief in what we are doing for the country's development and also giving society messages that religion must be separated from the state. We are Muslims in Azerbaijan; there are also Christians, Jews and representatives of other religions. But religion should not interfere in political life. We do not understand when somebody talks about political Islam. This is not common in Azerbaijan. One of our advantages as an independent country in this geography and one of our achievements is that we have managed to strengthen the secular character of our society, at the same time, with full respect for the religious feelings of all our citizens. And what we are doing in Karabakh now, apart from the airports you have mentioned, is the restoration of mosques, including the mosque in Shusha, which was illegally “restored” but was actually damaged by one Iranian company. And that was a big scandal because when we invited the Iranian ambassador to our Foreign Ministry, saying that you have no right to do it, you have no right to touch it. You have no right, first of all, to visit Shusha, which is part of Azerbaijan, without our agreement. And that was again a sign of solidarity with Armenians who destroyed 65 mosques in Karabakh and Zangazur out of 67. And one in Aghdam, which you will see. They used it as a stable for cows and pigs, and the minaret they used as an observation point to see Azerbaijani troops. The mosque in Shusha was “renovated” to demonstrate the so-called “tolerance” of Armenians – which looked renovated– and they called it a Persian mosque. First, mosques don’t have nationalities. You cannot call a mosque Persian or any other. This is part of our history; none of us have forgotten that. Therefore, the total separation of religion from political life is our model and has proven successful. So, we don’t have anything you described in your question in Azerbaijan. We have complete unity among Muslims in Azerbaijan regardless of which part of the Muslim religion they belong to – Shia or Sunni. We have a unique experience of having a unity prayer in our mosque when Shia and Sunni Muslims pray together. And how can we separate them if all of them are Azerbaijanis? The same blood, the same ethnicity. And this is probably the last question to be asked in Azerbaijan – you know our country very well. We are all Muslims, and there is no division between us. And those who want to divide the Muslim world are doing significant damage to all Muslims. The Muslim world must be united. And what are we doing? We contribute to that through our efforts, initiatives, statements, and policy.
Therefore, traditional alliances can grow more prominent in today's world. For instance, we have already discussed the Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation format. One of the advantages of the Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation format is that we have created a synergy, and countries which, for instance, Azerbaijan has better relations with or Turkiye has better relations with – these countries also create additional potential. You know that Azerbaijan has played a role in the normalization of relations between Turkiye and Israel. We have also played a role in normalizing relations between Turkiye and some Arab countries. We consider this as part of our duty because if we have these connections, we want our friends to be friends among themselves. This creates additional opportunities, strengthens security and stability and has more economic benefits. And I think to know; we see that the configuration of the political cooperation format in the broader region of Eurasia is going in a positive direction.
With respect to our reconstruction processes, of course, first of all, what we are doing, we are doing for the people who will come to live there. Zangilan airport has importance because it will be easier to transport cargo, and one day probably, Zangilan airport may have international flight connections. Why not? It is one of the most beautiful parts of Azerbaijan, with very beautiful nature, natural springs, rivers and trees. It is a piece of heaven when we create all the necessary infrastructure for that. At the same time, it is not far from the Armenian border. Therefore, it is no secret that this airport will also be important from the point of view of security. And taking into account the growing volume of cargo going through Azerbaijan and the growing cargo fleet of Azerbaijan, it could and should be one of the destinations for our cargo fleet because of the location. It is closer to Europe; it is closer to the south. And Zangilan, in general, will be an important transportation center, which sits on the Zangazur transportation corridor. The railroad to Zangilan is already built. You have probably seen it. Next year it will reach almost the Armenian border.
The airport in Fuzuli is now being actively used. Many visitors, including international visitors, are using it. The airport in Lachin has special importance, of course, because it is not easy to access Lachin. You can get it, now I mean, either through the Kalbadjar mountains, which are sometimes inaccessible in the summer or through Gubadli. So it is really important mainly for the people who will live there whether this will impact the future additional benefits of the region, of course. Because when we started to invest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, there were questions about why we were spending so much money, almost 800 million dollars U.S. if we had other connections.
But now we see that the situation has changed, and it needs to be expanded to 5 million tons. We are already doing that, and it must be ready by the end of next year. The same will happen in Karabakh. It will be the driving force for the development of Azerbaijan. It will accumulate considerable labor resources. That will help us to keep unemployment at a low level. And, of course, the Aghali village of Zangilan is an illustration of the will of the Azerbaijani people. Many thought that no one would go back. But as you see, there are 70 children at school, and representatives of the younger generation who were raised in Baku or Sumgayit have moved. They have moved from the capital city to the village to live on their land. And this shows that the will of the Azerbaijani people cannot be damaged by occupation or any other threats. I am sure that the absolute majority of former refugees will go back. And this process has started.

Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan-Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev: Mr. President, you have already been spending two intense hours with us and we still have four more questions.

President Ilham Aliyev: Okay, let’s continue.

Hikmat Hajiyev: Thank you, Mr. President.

Vice-President of the General Geostrategic Observatory, Ventzeslav Sabev:

-Thank you. This question comes very rightly after Brenda’s question on the model of intercultural and interethnic solidarity in Azerbaijan, including now the liberated territories. Speaking on the public perception, Geneva is a suitable place as a world hub of governance and human rights negotiations on how to portray this image of tolerance and intercultural solidary. If we had the opportunity to portray in the center of international Geneva one image, one object, one feature which symbolizes this solidarity in Karabakh about the open hand it has to the neighbors and the world, what that object, or that image or that symbol would be? You mentioned that it is a piece of heaven. It would be great to bring a piece of heaven into the Place des Nations in Geneva, a challenging but great prospect. Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. One of the advantages of Azerbaijani society is that it is multicultural and multiethnic. It has always been like that. Why? Probably the main answer is that every person, regardless of their religious or ethnic roots, feels comfortable here in Azerbaijan. And this is one of our advantages, especially during the years of independence, which were not easy, especially in the first years of independence with war, occupation, and a million refugees. Our nation and people have preserved their character, which is common to our people. This situation did not make us angrier or more aggressive. This is very important. That was also important for the consolidation of our society. And the events we organized in Azerbaijan, I mean international events like humanitarian forums or intercultural dialogue forums which we held every second year – by the way, we are restoring that after the pandemic and next May, we will have an international intercultural dialogue forum again. So, if you have time, I invite our guests to be present because this demonstrates the spirit of tolerance, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding worldwide.

Also, in 2008 we initiated a process called the Baku Process. For the first time in history, we brought together ministers of culture of member states of the Council of Europe and member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – more than 100 countries for the first time. And now, the United Nations strongly supports the Baku process. So, it is one of the most important platforms for intercultural dialogue. I can name many events that reflect what I am saying, including the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Azerbaijan. It was one of the first Muslim countries he visited. He had his religious service at the Catholic Church, and then he went to the mosque to meet with the religious leaders of Azerbaijan. All this actually is strengthening the spirit of solidarity inside Azerbaijan. During the Second Karabakh War, we had almost 3,000 martyrs. Among them were representatives of all ethnic groups inhabiting Azerbaijan. So it was a fight for land, for dignity, regardless of who belonged to which ethnic group. We were united like one iron fist. So, if I present what has been done in one word or one event, I can think of the Kharibulbul Music Festival, which has already been held in Shusha twice since the liberation. The first was in May last year. It was a traditional festival, which we have restored, and at that festival last year, there were performers representing different ethnic groups of Azerbaijan. So that was symbolic. Frankly speaking, it was my idea. I wanted all Azerbaijani nationalities and ethnic groups to be there on Jidir Duzu, a place sacred to every Azerbaijani, and to demonstrate that it is our joint victory. And each Azerbaijani citizen is proud of that. There can be many other elements, but you asked for one thing, so I thought this would be the best presentation.

Senior researcher, Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, Turkiye, Ferhad Pirincci:

-Thank you, Mr. President. Actually, the questions I was going to ask have already been asked, but I just wanted to learn. I also visited Shusha and saw all the damages Armenia caused in those occupied territories. I also visited Gandja last year and saw traces of missile strikes and destroyed buildings. During the occupation and the time of war, there were several war crimes, crimes against humanity, damage to cultural property, etc. Do you plan to pursue legal action or ask for compensation from Armenia in the peace process? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, we have started this process. We have already hired international legal firms to assist us with that, concerning the obvious war crimes, and also before and during the Second Karabakh War, when Armenians were shelling peaceful cities, including Ganja and more than ten other Azerbaijani cities situated far away from the conflict, with ballistic missiles – SCUD, Elbrus, they even used Iskander-M, which they could have by no means because this is a missile only used by Russian armed forces. There is a missile called Iskander-E, or export, which is for export. But the missile we found in Shusha, now demonstrated in the Trophies Park in Baku, is Iskander-M. So, this is a blatant violation of international law. It is a war crime.

We have started the legal procedure. There has been another illegal activity, too, such as illegal settlement. This is also considered a war crime based on the Geneva Convention. Also, the change of the historical legacy of an area and, of course, the illegal excavation of natural resources. There were several European companies involved in that, especially in the production of gold in Zangilan, but not only in Zangilan but also in other parts, and not only gold. So all that is already in the process. You know, it takes much work. It is a slow process. We are doing everything properly to achieve success. Of course, if the decision of international legal institutions is not politicized and if they are free from any pressure from some of Armenia’s European sponsors, and if they treat it objectively, there is a big chance that we will win the case. Also, all the destroyed villages are already monitored by our officials. We have prepared passports for every building and what the Armenians have done is obvious. It is all documented, and we will use that for the legal procedure. So, we do not know how long this will last. We do it mainly without any public presentation. It is routine work, which is being done, and I am sure that if justice prevails again, we will punish the aggressor for what they did during the occupation.

Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, Ekaterina Metreveli:

-Thank you, Mr. President, for your time and sharing your vision with us. As a Georgian, first of all, I would like to thank you for your recent visit to Georgia. In an expert society, we greatly appreciate the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia. We consider ourselves as natural allies, and the foundations of that were laid by the late presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia. So, we look forward to pushing this cooperation forward. I also would like to thank you and Azerbaijan for understanding Georgia’s reservations regarding 3+3 due to the occupation of our territories. Still, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran behaving strangely, the 3+3 format does not have a future, even without Georgia’s creating problems. I wanted to draw your attention to this very important initiative you have put forward in Prague during the European political community meeting about the necessity of discussing a cooperation platform between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to ensure peace and security in the region. I understand that with the recent developments, as you have mentioned, regarding Armenia’s reservations about being part of the peace process, the meeting on 7 December might be on hold. But still, it would be interesting to hear your position about what you envision under that cooperation format.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. Our relations with Georgia are strategically important for our Georgian friends and us. My visit to Georgia demonstrated our relations and the necessity to be together in all situations – solidarity, mutual support, energy transportation projects and some new ideas, which I discussed with my colleague, the Georgian Prime Minister. Taking into account the new opportunities for energy and transportation connectivity projects, we have very good results. So, we are working very actively now, not very publicly, but we are working very actively to be prepared for new volumes of hydrocarbons and cargo. At the same time, as you correctly mentioned, Azerbaijan also supported the idea of establishing, if not cooperation but at least a format of consultations between three South Caucasus countries. And we think it is natural because we are situated in the same region. Georgia, for us, is a strategic partner. At the same time, Georgian-Armenian relations are also good. Therefore, we thought it was natural, but unfortunately, the Armenian side was very resistant to that. We could not understand why, but we can guess – they probably don’t want to disappoint some of their sponsors. But anyway, we managed to open a small window when Armenia had to agree to the meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Georgia. Again, their strange behavior was absolutely difficult to understand for the Georgian hosts and us. They said that it should only be bilateral and that a Georgian representative should not participate. We cannot understand that. And during my visit to Georgia, I discussed with Prime Minister Garibashvili the prospects for having a trilateral summit in Georgia. If Armenia is ready, we think it will be timely. Because, first, do they want peace – that’s the question. Without that, everything doesn’t have any sense. If they want peace, they should not avoid this format. Because connectivity, transportation, energy security, trade – all of that can be achieved. Apart from what happened to our lands, one of the negative consequences of the Armenian occupation is that South Caucasus lost this opportunity to be integrated. And now it is time. Maybe it would be premature to talk of any integration or trilateral cooperation, but I think the time has come to at least start consultations. I don’t know the obstacles in front of Armenia, whom they are afraid of in not agreeing to that. But I think they must behave more independently if they really want peace. If that happens, that meeting can take place very soon. If not, then okay; it will continue like it is. Actually, for Azerbaijan and Georgia, this cooperation, taking into account the geography, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea connections, and Central Asia and Europe connections, we can do well without them, without the Armenians. If they want to benefit, we are ready. If not, then it will continue like that.

Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary, Laszlo Vasa:

-Thank you very much, Mr. President, for the opportunity to be here. My question is focused on the Organization of Turkic States. How do you see the role of this organization regarding economic cooperation along the Middle Corridor? Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, we are glad that Hungary has already been an observer for many years, and Prime Minister Orban regularly participates at the summits. The organization has changed its name and is becoming increasingly active in the international arena. We are also glad that we are seeing much more active dialogue between member-states than several years ago. The last summit also clearly reflects that. With respect to connectivity, I think this will be one of the main contributors. Cooperation between Turkic states will be one of the main contributors to the Middle Corridor. Because if we look at the geography – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and then Georgia and Turkiye – this creates additional opportunities. And as we discussed earlier today, we already enjoy the growth of transit cargo, as I said, 70 percent this year. Next year it may be even higher. And all these cargoes mainly come from Central Asia to Europe through the Trans-Caspian route. Also, during my visits to Central Asian countries, visits by the President of Turkiye and leaders of Turkic states visiting Turkiye, there are new opportunities to increase bilateral trade. With Turkiye, we are working actively to expand the list of items free from any customs duties. In other words, these are steps towards a free trade agreement. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkiye is already more than 4 billion dollars U.S. We see the same with other countries. So, this will be the main contributor to the corridor. At the same time, it is also important that other big players consider this route as reliable, safe and economically attractive. Therefore, we have stability and reliability. We need to work broadly on the tariff policy to unify it. And to coordinate the activities of customs administrations so that companies thinking about where to send their cargo could use this corridor not only to save time but also to save money. And for that, we need a unified tariff policy and customs administration to be predictable and fair. So, there is potential, and we are moving in the right direction.

European House-Ambrosetti Middle East and Central Asia, Italy, Luca Miraglia:

-Thank you very much, Mr. President. First, thank you very much for the kind invitation to this conference and congratulations to ADA University for the excellent organization. At the beginning of September, you honored us with your presence at our economic forum in Cernobbio. At that time, your intervention focused on bilateral cooperation. You covered education, which every country needs to develop capabilities and competencies to develop. And it is interesting and nice to be at ADA University today. Then, of course, you covered bilateral cooperation on energy. We did appreciate the effort Azerbaijan put in to increase the gas supply at this critical moment. Even though going forward if it is very likely that there will be a new geopolitical order, this makes Azerbaijan’s role more and more strategically important. It is going to be about energy, and it is going to be about that Middle Corridor, as is in the title of today’s conference. I would be very glad to have a chance to enlarge this kind of conversation and even bring it to Italy and try to understand in bilateral or maybe multilateral dimensions what we can do to speed it up and help it develop. Italy and Azerbaijan are very important partners. We are now enjoying a new government –we have gotten used to that. And we have found our way of continuing through this continuity. What do you think are the main objectives in your relations with Italy, and, if I may, where do you see bottlenecks? Because the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline was eventually done, but it wasn’t easy. Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. First of all, thank you for the hospitality in Cernobbio. I really enjoyed my stay in this beautiful part of your country, a beautiful part of the world. And also, thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to address such a distinguished audience. It was a good opportunity to talk about bilateral relations and also about some issues on the international agenda. I considered that another sign of our close partnership between Italy and Azerbaijan. Italy is one of the nine EU states with which Azerbaijan has signed strategic partnership declarations. So, we are strategic partners, increasing and broadening our bilateral agenda. During my last visit to Italy, which I started from Rome, I participated in opening a newly renovated building of the Azerbaijani Embassy and a cultural center. And then, rector Hafiz Pashayev and five leaders of Italian Universities exchanged documents on the creation of the Italian-Azerbaijani University, which will be situated somewhere in this environment. The construction has already started, as far as I know, and we have a budget for the following year. It still needs to be fully approved, but I can give you some information, open a secret that in our investment program, the financing of a new building of the Italian-Azerbaijani University is provided. It will be essential for our bilateral relations, for education, as you mentioned, because five leading Italian universities are becoming co-founders of the Italian-Azerbaijani University.

Our Foreign Minister made a phone call to the Foreign Minister of Italy, congratulating him on this occasion. We look forward to establishing close ties with members of the government. So, we will continue our successful cooperation.

Regarding energy supplies, we are doing everything to increase the supply of natural gas. You mentioned that there were certain difficulties with the construction of TAP. We all know that. We also know that those obstacles were artificial. We dealt with those obstacles very seriously, and everybody understands now that, first, olive trees did not suffer; they were replanted, and, secondly, energy security in Italy is provided better now. There is a demand to increase the volume of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Italy, but, of course, for that, we need to expand the capacity of TAP. And I discussed this with the previous Prime Minister, Mr. Mario Draghi. Since Azerbaijan has only a 20 percent share in TAP, we cannot be the only contributor. We need to make this decision, and the sooner we make it, the better because TAP is working at full capacity, and with new volumes of gas, we need to do it quickly. Because there is a Trans-Balkan route also, but it also has certain limitations. After the Russia-Ukraine War started, we got requests from more than ten European countries concerning either increasing or starting the existing supplies. We are evaluating all these proposals. Currently, we do not have enough gas to satisfy all the requests. Therefore, we need to start commercial negotiations immediately, primarily with countries already receiving Azerbaijani gas, because the lines are already here, and all the legal framework exists. But at the same time, we plan to expand the geography. We fully support the initiatives of Europe to build interconnectors. One of them was inaugurated last month, and I participated in Sofia – the Greek-Bulgarian interconnector. Another interconnector between Bulgaria and Serbia will be ready by the end of next year. I was informed about that two days ago, during my visit to Serbia. We are now working with the government of Albania to invest in the gas distribution network in Albania because it does not exist. And Albania is only a transit country, but they also need gas for domestic consumption. There is a project for the Ionic-Adriatic gas pipeline, which covers three Balkan countries, but for that, we need – all of us who want this project to be implemented for the EU to step in and express its attitude to that. Of course, all these interconnectors being built have one goal to provide energy security. Our resources are known. I have articulated the numbers many times. So, we are committed to increasing investments. As I said earlier, as soon as we complete our new transit arrangements with Turkiye, we will know the legal framework and how much gas we will supply. Before this is achieved, it is not possible to do it. I hope we will finalize it by the end of the year. Of course, this will be a part of our overall energy strategy. In the Memorandum of Understanding, signed between Madam Ursula von der Leyen and me this July in Baku, we addressed gas and electricity, hydrogen, and green hydrogen. And there are big plans to increase the volume of electric energy we can supply to Europe. As to bottlenecks, with gas, it is TAP, and with electricity, it is the transmission infrastructure in Turkiye. Today it can transmit a limited volume of Azerbaijan’s electric energy. But our electric energy is needed in the Balkans, in Serbia, as discussed two days ago, in Bulgaria, Romania and maybe in many other European countries. Therefore, we can achieve it only when we continue teamwork. Of course, investments will be needed. So, we plan to become a significant exporter of electric energy to Europe. The market is very attractive for us, and electric energy is needed. So, coming back to our bilateral relations with Italy, I would probably call them excellent. We are very committed to that, and we will do everything to continue this strategic path with the new government.

Mr. President, that was our last question, and on behalf of our group, I would like to extend our profound appreciation for the time you have spent with us. It is more than two and a half hours. Mr. President, you have also, in a very comprehensive and detailed manner, addressed more than 16 questions. Thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. Thank you very much for your patience. Thank you for being with us. I wish you all the best.

Hafiz Pashayev: Mr. President, if you allow me. Of course, I thank you very much for being with us. I remember your speech in Italy when everybody expected that you would say, at least in the initial part of your speech, about energy, about how the pipeline will go, but you spoke about education. And this, for us, is a great sign of your support of education in the country. And from the very beginning of the inauguration of this beautiful university, you, of course, always provided us with great support. I wanted to start my greeting remarks here by thanking you for supporting ADA University. Still, I want to thank the Italian representative who gave me this opportunity to remind you that during your official visit to Italy, among all other important issues, you raised the issue of creating the Italian-Azerbaijani University. Thanks to the Italian representative, you have answered many questions I had.

President Ilham Aliyev: Concerning the budget, everything will be okay.

Hafiz Pashayev: Thank you, Mr. President, for being with us. I also want to thank all the participants for coming to ADA University, and I hope that we will meet another time very soon.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. Thank you once again.

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Then a picture was taken.

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The participants of this important event included leaders and representatives of leading think tanks of the USA, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, France, Israel, Switzerland, Italy, Georgia, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia and Turkiye.

The conference featured discussions on the security aspects of the Middle Corridor and the region’s economic opportunities. In this regard, particularly, the participants exchanged views on the importance of the Zangazur corridor, the new transport opportunities that the East-West corridor will create, and the expansion and diversification of international cargo transportation.

As a result of the policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has gained immense authority worldwide. It is already known as a country that has initiated and organized many prestigious international events addressing the most pressing topics. Particular importance in the international events held since the Patriotic War is attached to the work done in the direction of revitalizing Azerbaijani territories liberated from occupation, and they are being transformed into a vital component of international transport corridors. One of the most remarkable points is that the expansion of the scope of these conferences and forums, as well as the increase in the number of participants, is evidence of the growing international interest in these events. This is also a clear indication of the international community's attention and growing interest in the consistent and progressive policy being implemented by the President of Azerbaijan in the direction of transforming the South Caucasus into a region of peace and cooperation after Azerbaijan’s victory in the Patriotic War under the leadership of the President and Victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev.

Along with other countries, the work done in this direction is carefully monitored by leading think tanks, well-known experts and analysts. This is evidenced by the high level of participation in the forums and conferences held along with Baku in the territories liberated from occupation in the current year alone. In particular, international conferences “New Vision for South Caucasus: Post-Conflict Development and Cooperation” on 10-13 April and “South Caucasus: Development and Cooperation” on 29 October, both held at ADA University, as well as the National Urban Forum held in Aghdam on October 5-6 and other events evoked great interest.