Aliyev's Clear Objective is to Prevent Western Presence in Our Region: Hayrapetyan

Political analyst Tatevik Hayrapetyan has stated that Aliyev has a clear aim: to prevent the presence of the West in our region.

“Aliyev always starts the year with a substantial speech. In the last two years, in 2023 and 2024, he spoke on January 10, for about two hours. This time he spoke for three hours and a couple of days earlier. Certain parts of this speech have been actively discussed in our media space due to open threats. But honestly, all threats directed at us have long been expressed to some extent, both by Aliyev and other officials, as well as through their television channels. Those who watched have seen it, and those who didn’t have ignored it, but the realities have not changed.”

“Nevertheless, this speech, or rather the Q&A session, contains several noteworthy statements. This was not directed only against us; it was a speech against the current U.S. administration, which Aliyev refers to as 'Soros-backed', against France, Canada, especially the resigned prime minister, against certain EU countries that are conducting a monitoring mission in Armenia, and finally, also against Iran. Regarding Russia, Aliyev was more cautious. I will present excerpts that have not been published in our media.”

“Referring to France, he noted: ‘Islamophobia and intolerance are generally characteristic traits of the French political class. And not only that. Incidentally, anti-Semitism is also well-known to all. Moreover, there is Armenian influence, an Armenian lobby, and everyone wants to present themselves in front of the Armenian communities and get some dividends both now and in the future... In the last few months, we have been receiving signals from representatives of the French government to establish contact. I remember that these were from three or four different individuals, and our response has always been, 'We are ready.' Yes, we are ready today, but we are not going anywhere – neither to Paris nor to Brussels. If you need to meet with us, you can meet us here, in Baku. But at some point, there is again a vacuum, and silence arises... The main thing is that they do not touch us, do not interfere in our affairs, and do not interfere in the affairs of the South Caucasus. This is already a demand that we have formulated quite clearly.’”

This means that Aliyev has a clear goal: to prevent the presence of the West in our region.

“When talking about Iran, among various other points, Aliyev also hints that he expects an apology from Iran's spiritual leader: ‘Regarding the hateful attitude of the provincial mullah towards us, this is not the first time. That mullah from the city of Ardabil has made insulting statements multiple times about Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani people, including about me. The question here is how that person appointed to that position reacts to this issue. After all, he did not come there of his own accord. We know very well who appointed him. What is their reaction? Do they support him or not, and who will ask for forgiveness from Azerbaijan? Will they apologize or not? The expression of regret in the statement from Iran's Foreign Ministry is not enough. There was an overt insult both to the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan, to our peoples, during the live broadcast of an official event. And just regret? This is, of course, unacceptable. Therefore, we believe that the provincial mullah should be punished. He should at least be relieved of his position and forced to apologize to Azerbaijan...’”

Aliyev essentially categorizes the current U.S. administration as 'Soros-backed'. At the same time, he notes: ‘The main mistake of Biden's administration regarding Azerbaijan was that it turned U.S.-Azerbaijan relations into a victim of Armenian-American relations. In other words, they approached Azerbaijan from the perspective of Armenia-Azerbaijan or U.S.-Armenia relations, and as a result, the good results achieved earlier were overshadowed, which is the first point. Secondly, they exhibited an unjust posture towards Azerbaijan, particularly regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, and that was both unjust and based on a position of double standards.’”

“Let me remind you that it was the Armenian authorities who helped Aliyev push out all mediators, including the Western ones, from the Armenia-Azerbaijan process,” she wrote.