Baku, March 14, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Euronews TV channel during the 12th Global Baku Forum on March 13.

A segment of the interview with the head of state was aired on the television channel on March 14. AZERTAC presents the full text of the interview.

Correspondent: Mr. President, the Global Baku Forum is now in its 12th year. What are your hopes for the outcomes of this year's event?

President Ilham Aliyev: I hope that, as usual, the participants will share their views, opinions, and approaches to the issues on the global agenda, especially now when the situation on the international stage is changing dramatically. The potential of the forum is actually reflected in the names of the participants. As I said in my introductory remarks, we have more than 50 incumbent and former heads of state and government from different countries—people with great experience, knowledge, and expertise.

As we can see even from the opening session, there is a combination of opinions. They do not coincide, which is good. I'm sure that at the panels, the discussions will be even hotter. So, the forum always generates ideas and is very instrumental in elaborating new approaches to international issues.

- This year's theme is the “Rethinking World Order”. What do you think are some of the biggest global challenges that we are all facing around the world?

- I think it's a common opinion that now we're in the phase of elaborating new rules and regulations. The old world order seems no longer to be here. So, what will be the new configuration of international community interaction? Nobody knows; there are different opinions. But what is absolutely clear is that every country should be more concentrated on its homework, on its own capability, and not to rely on any kind of assistance or even on international law. Azerbaijan, which suffered from international law being selective, has great experience in building our future based on our resources.

Second, I think what will be important for the future is that many countries will concentrate mainly on the bilateral track of relationship rather than on activity within international institutions because some international institutions demonstrate their weakness, if not total paralysis. Of course, a lot will depend on how things continue because we are just in the initial phase of global transformation.

- We are seeing a lot of geopolitical changes around the world. Where do you stand on the significant ones that we're seeing, especially around this region?

- Of course, it's important to protect the region from any crises around us. Unfortunately, the region of the South Caucasus for decades was an area of confrontation and hostility. So now, we have a relatively quiet period. So, we need to concentrate on that and build security mechanisms that will be inclusive, eliminate any threat of another military confrontation, and try to live in the neighborhood as we used to in the times of the Soviet Union.

Yes, we were not independent countries. We could not actually plan our future. We were largely dependent on the Soviet center. But at least there was an active interaction between the South Caucasian republics. So, we have this experience, and we need to just keep it in our mind. For this region, it's very important not to be late with respect to geopolitical transformation and to concentrate on our regional problems and regional opportunities.

- Looking farther afield, we have Russia-Ukraine, we have the Middle East, issues that are going on there. What can we take away from this and move forward as a global collective?

- As far as we are concerned, I think our understanding of the global order was absolutely correct because we did not rely on any institution or anyone with respect to our national interests. Whether it's a war between Russia and Ukraine, or a situation in the Middle East, tensions in Africa, in some other parts of the world, the countries should understand that their destiny is in their hands.

The sooner they understand it, the better for them because if you always rely on someone's assistance, then first, you are vulnerable; second, you are not guaranteed that this assistance will be eternal; and third, you lose part of your sovereignty. Because if you depend on someone and always ask for help, then one day, that someone will come and give you a bill.

Our experience was successful and proved that by relying on our resources, we restored our sovereignty and territorial integrity ourselves, and now we are building our future. I think this is an important outcome. This is not only the kind of a theory. This is what happened here in Azerbaijan.

- In terms of your vision for the future, where do you see this global stability eventually going? Do you think we will achieve it?

- I would not be so optimistic. I prefer to be realistic. I don't think that we will achieve stability in the coming months or even coming years. If we talk about the war between Russia and Ukraine, even if the war stops, it is not a guarantee that it will not erupt again. We had a time for almost 30 years when we had a ceasefire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which was achieved in spring 1994. But that did not mean that the war ended; it just transformed. The war only ends when you have a peace agreement.

Even now, after almost five years since the Second Karabakh War, we don't have a peace deal with Armenia. Yes, we have a quiet period, no casualties, and this is a big advantage of today's situation. But until a peace agreement is signed, this stability is not here; the same in all other parts of the world, the same in the Middle East, the same in Africa.

Unfortunately, the number of conflicts is growing, and if you look at those that have been resolved, we can only see it here, in Karabakh. That's the only one, which was resolved based on international law, historical justice, and this resolution is accepted by the whole world.

- I think events like this are a testament to starting those conversations, and it's a very important part of that geopolitical arena, yes?

- Definitely, because when we talk about geopolitical change, we should talk more precisely. It is what is happening in Washington, what is happening with respect to the new policy of the new American administration, and this once again demonstrates how the whole world is dependent on the decisions, which are made in the White House. This is a source of the global geopolitical change. It has just started, and we are just, as I said, in the early months of that geopolitical change.

Therefore, a gathering like this, with such a big crowd, is important for properly evaluating, sharing views, concerns, or expectations. If you follow my remarks, you may have noticed that I'm very enthusiastic about what is happening. Because, as I said in my comments, we were very disappointed with the deterioration of relations between the previous US administration and Azerbaijan due to, I would say, an unjust approach towards our national interests. Therefore, we are very enthusiastic about rebuilding our strong partnership and relationship with the United States under Trump's administration.

But there are people in that room who are more disappointed than enthusiastic. This is normal, because every country has its own interests. Every politician has their own views, and here at this forum, I hope, there will be a clash of ideas. That makes the forum successful.

-Have you spoken with President Trump, and is he embracing the conversation?

- I only spoke with him to congratulate him on his victory, and that was the only conversation between us.

- For now. Mr. President, always a pleasure to talk to you.

- Thank you very much. Hope you enjoy your stay in Baku.

- Thank you very much. Lovely to see you.

- Thank you.