Foreign policy of Azerbaijan
The foreign policy of the Caucasus Republic of Azerbaijan is geopolitically in a transition position between the spheres of interest in Eastern Europe , the Caucasus , the Middle East and Central Asia . It has diplomatic relations with 166 countries. The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister is Elmar Məmmədyarov .
Basics of foreign policy
Azerbaijan sees itself as a bridge between Europe and Asia . Due to its location between Europe and Central Asia, as well as between Russia and the Middle East, interest in the small country is growing increasingly. In terms of security policy, the country is therefore interested in good relations with its powerful neighbors Russia, Turkey and Iran , and economically in good relations with the USA and Europe. It seeks to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the occupations connected with it.
In the geopolitical analysis of Zbigniew Brzeziński in his fundamental work The Only World Power , Azerbaijan is a geopolitical fulcrum of crucial importance: "It is, as it were, the cork in the bottle that contains the treasures of the Caspian Basin and Central Asia." the independence of the Central Asian states and the power of disposal over its oil reserves. As an independent country that is connected to the West by its own pipelines, it becomes the "gateway" to the Central Asian republics. "Almost as in the case of Ukraine, the future of Azerbaijan and Central Asia is decisive for the weal and woe of Russia."
With regard to Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey are competing for influence. There are more Azeris living in Iran than in Azerbaijan. For fear of separatism , Iran is critical of Azerbaijan's sovereignty .
Memberships in organizations
The Republic of Azerbaijan is a member of the following international institutions and organizations:
- EBRD
- Council of Europe
- CIS
- GUAM
- IMF
- NATO - Partnership for Peace
- OSCE
- Black Sea Economic Cooperation
- U.N.
- OIC
- World bank
- OATCT
Post-Soviet countries
Relations with Russia
The former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan sees Russia's influence in the Caucasus as the key to resolving the conflict with Armenia, as Russia regards itself as the protecting power of Armenia . Therefore, under Heidar Aliyev , the country pursued an improvement in relations with the Russian Federation, which his son and successor Ilham Aliyev is continuing. However, the construction of the BTC pipeline to the exclusion of Russia put a strain on relations again. In recent years Russian-Azerbaijani relations have developed into a strategic partnership. In contentious political questions, both sides take a pragmatic position and rely on political dialogue. In the case of the annexation of Crimea, for example, Baku supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Moscow, on the other hand, makes no secret of its support for Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This certainty does not seem to stand in the way of increased intergovernmental cooperation.
Relations with Armenia
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilcham Aliyev, called the territory of his western neighbor, Armenia, “the old Turkish and Azerbaijani territory”. Azerbaijan is also in a protracted dispute with the Republic of Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh , an area on Azerbaijani territory that is predominantly Armenian , declared itself independent in 1991 and has since been occupied by Armenian armed forces. Relations with Armenia are naturally very tense, despite the ceasefire that has been in place since 1994. Since Azerbaijan can no longer export oil only via Russia via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline , it has the financial strength to achieve military preponderance in the medium term. The two states have no diplomatic relations with each other and are still at war with each other today . Azerbaijan repeatedly threatens the military conquest of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Arzach) republic . Entry and transit of Armenian citizens and all other foreign citizens of Armenian descent are also not permitted.
Relations with Georgia
Historically, Azerbaijan and Georgia maintain close political and economic contacts. On November 18, 1992, diplomatic relations between the two countries were established. In terms of international law, political cooperation is based on the principle of mutual recognition of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. The driving force of the partnership-based cooperation in the economic area is the energy sector, with both sides participating in the implementation of many energy projects of supraregional importance. In addition to the completed pipelines such as Baku-Supsa, Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan Oil, and Baku-Tiflis-Erzurum gas pipelines, the implementation of other major projects such as the TANAP (Transanatolian Pipeline) and TAP (Trans-Adria-Pipeline) in the " Southern Energy Corridor ", which should guarantee the energy security of the actors involved in the foreseeable future. The state-owned Azerbaijani energy company SOCAR is one of the largest investors in Georgia.
middle East
Relations with Iran
A large Azerbaijani minority lives on Iranian territory . Due to the conflict with Armenia, the only land connection of the Azerbaijani heartland leads to the Nakhichevan enclave via Iranian territory. Azerbaijan is therefore interested in good relations with its southern neighbor and also supports Iran in the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program by publicly declaring several times that Iran, like every sovereign state, has the right to civilian use of nuclear energy. But there are also contentious issues. To this end, Mohammad Reza Djalili writes on "caucaz.com": "The first accusation against Tehran Baku concerns the pan-Turkism some Azerbaijani circles; Added to this is the 'myth' (as the Iranians call it) of a 'Greater Azerbaijan', which questions the territorial unity of Iran. In 1828 the Russian Empire split off part of the Azerbaijani-speaking areas from Persia with the Treaty of Turkmanschai. Therefore, several million Azerbaijanis live in Iran. The second problem concerns the Caspian Sea , its legal status and Iran's participation in the exploitation of its petroleum resources. Finally, at the international level, Tehran accuses Baku of urgently striving for an alliance with the West and of wanting to achieve a clear rapprochement with NATO, to develop its privileged relations with the United States in every area including the military, to maintain good relations with Israel and of course to be very close to Turkey. For Iran, Azerbaijan's choice of international partners is obviously not advantageous, especially since the impression prevails in Tehran that Baku is also - at least indirectly - participating in the American policy of encircling Iran, which was introduced after September 11, 2001. "
In July 2001, military escalation between the two countries almost came about when Iranian warships forced an Azerbaijani oil exploration vessel to withdraw from a reservoir located within Iran's claimed portion of the Caspian Sea. Shortly afterwards, Iranian military planes began violating Azerbaijani airspace. It was only after Turkey interfered in the incident and sent its air force to the region that the Iranian side turned to de-escalation.
In 2012, Azerbaijani-Iranian relations deteriorated dramatically again. In March, at the height of the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program, Foreign Policy magazine reported, with reference to high-ranking US military experts, that the Israeli air force had allegedly gained access to a military airfield 50 kilometers north of Baku, from where attacks on Iranian positions are being launched should. A spokesman for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry firmly denied this report and stressed that no military action against Iran should be undertaken from Azerbaijani territory. Just three months later, tensions between the two countries came to a head again just before the start of the Eurovision Song Contest . The mullah regime accused the host country Azerbaijan of offending Islam by hosting the ESC . The Iranian ambassador in Baku was then ordered back. At the same time, the Azerbaijani envoy in Tehran was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Iranian clergy also accused the Azerbaijani side of authorizing the homosexual demonstration, which in fact never took place.
Relations with Israel
Azerbaijan has recognized Israel as one of the few Islamic countries and is establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, although Azerbaijan also has very good relations with Iran . Economic relations are also close, mostly in the area of energy policy. Besides Turkey , Azerbaijan is the only predominantly Muslim country that cooperates with Israel in the area of security policy. Israel supports Azerbaijan with weapons, among other things. During his official visit to Baku in April 2012, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman paid tribute to the state of bilateral relations: “Azerbaijan is much more important to Israel than France”. In April 2013, Elmar Mammadyarov was the first foreign minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan ever to pay an official visit to Israel. The talks mainly focused on the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel. In December of the same year, the "Israeli-Azerbaijani Forum" was launched as part of the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation .
Western countries
Relations with the USA
Similar to Georgia, Azerbaijan represents a key geostrategic position for the USA in the region. The USA are considered to be an important strategic partner of Azerbaijan. On the one hand, the Americans want to secure access to the energy reserves of the Caspian Sea via Azerbaijan, bypassing Russia; on the other hand, Azerbaijan is also of military importance for the USA due to its proximity to Iraq and Iran.
Relations with the European Union
Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe and has been involved in European structures since 2001. The country is linked to the EU through the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) with action plans. Azerbaijan receives mainly financial and economic support under the ENP. In May 2009, the country joined the Eastern Partnership together with the five former Soviet republics of Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus .
The parliamentary cooperation committee between Azerbaijan and the EU, made up of high-ranking politicians on both sides, believes that Azerbaijan’s accession to the EU is possible. From an economic point of view, Azerbaijan is an important partner of the EU, as the EU states are the largest consumers of Azerbaijani oil .
Relations with Turkey
Azerbaijan has a special relationship with its western neighbor, Turkey. There are close ties in terms of culture , language , history and economy . Turkey and Azerbaijan are economically connected primarily through the BTC pipeline. Turkey is particularly interested in the oil reserves in the Caspian Sea . Both countries belong to the so-called Turkic states and participate in the Central Asian-Turkish Summit . Turkey also supports Azerbaijan militarily against Armenia, so numerous Turkish military advisors are active in Azerbaijan (see Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri ).
Relations with NATO
The bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and NATO began shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union , the independence of Azerbaijan and the admission of Azerbaijan to the North Atlantic Cooperation Council of this organization in March 1992. On November 23, 2017, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the President of Azerbaijan, İlham Əliyev in the Kingdom of Belgium . Jens Stoltenberg praised Azerbaijan's participation in peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan and NATO are cooperating in the Partnership for Peace .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information from the Foreign Office on Azerbaijan's foreign policy
- ^ Azerbaijan: Neighborhood and Independence . In: The time . December 8, 2016, ISSN 0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed October 12, 2017]).
- ↑ Ilcham Aliev's speech in Baku on YouTube
- ^ Bilateral Relations - Embassy of Georgia to the Republic of Azerbaijan. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 8, 2017 ; accessed on October 8, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Anar M. Valiyev: Azerbaijan-Iran Relations: Quo Vadis, Baku? September 2012, accessed January 8, 2018 .
- ↑ Azerbaijan denies military cooperation with Israel . In: The press . ( diepresse.com [accessed January 10, 2018]).
- ↑ Eurovision Song Contest: Iran accuses Azerbaijan of insulting Islam . In: Spiegel Online . May 22, 2012 ( spiegel.de [accessed January 11, 2018]).
- ^ Israeli-Azerbaijani relations
- ↑ Alexander Murinson: The Ties Between Israel and Azerbaijan. The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies Barlian University. Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 110, October 2014, accessed January 10, 2018 .
- ^ A b North Atlantic Treaty Organization - Relations with Azerbaijan , Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ President Ilham Aliyev meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg VIDEO . ( azertag.com [accessed November 25, 2017]).
