Aliyev: Azerbaijan will never give weapons to Ukraine

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, citing the media of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, announced that he did not discuss the war with Ukraine with his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during his visit to Russia. “Azerbaijan” at ADA University while answering the question of Professor Klaus Lars from the Wilson Center of the University of North Carolina, USA, talked about the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Aliyev emphasized that he and Putin They only talked about bilateral issues and the situation in the South Caucasus.

The President of Azerbaijan said: He does not know how the war between Russia and Ukraine will end. If anyone knows, they should probably be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. I don’t think anyone knows how this war is going to end right now. But I put it this way that it ends at some point, because wars stop sooner or later. I can tell from our own experience. When we signed a ceasefire agreement with Armenia in May 1994, the war did not actually stop. Therefore, a similar situation may arise between Russia and Ukraine. If they agree to end the active phase of the war, it does not guarantee the end of the war. From time to time, that is, during the occupation, there was tension, we had sniper battles with subversive groups, this or some other very dangerous things happened, and our contact line was much shorter than today’s contact line or the battle line between Russia and Ukraine. /p>

Aliyev emphasized: Imagine that a ceasefire agreement has been signed. Will this be a guarantee for the future of peace? The answer is negative. We waited for 28 years and then restored our sovereignty by force. We did it because we were right and we could. It was a matter of life and death for us. At that time, we were not sure who would fight on the side of Armenia. There could be different options. None of it was pleasant for us. But then we didn’t think about it, either we had to restore the dignity of our sovereignty or we all had to die. This was our approach. We waited, gathered strength, worked in the international arena. We tried to prove our position through negotiation and explain that we are victims of harassment, but it didn’t work. Yes, international organizations made resolutions and decisions, but they were not implemented, there was no implementation mechanism. So we implemented it. As I said, we brought peace with war. This is also an option and we show that it is possible. So, as I said, I don’t have a practical answer. I don’t think anyone knows when the war between Russia and Ukraine will stop.

The President of Azerbaijan stated that even if the war stops, there is no guarantee that it will not happen again, and said: What can Azerbaijan do? do nothing. Practically nothing. We provided more than 30 million euros in humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine. We are doing reconstruction work in the city of Irpin, where there is a large Azerbaijani population and many social infrastructures have been rebuilt. There is nothing more we can do. Even if they ask us, we will not give weapons to Ukraine, we can clearly say that we will not. Humanitarian aid yes, but never weapons, this is my answer.

Aliyev said: The war between Russia and Ukraine is a great tragedy for two nations that are very close to each other ethnically and religiously. Is. Was there a chance to escape the war? I think there was. Did the leaders of Ukraine have a chance to establish normal relations with Russia in the past years? I’m pretty sure there was. Yes, I was just talking about the relations between Russia and Azerbaijan. we are neighbors. We have developed strong partnerships. We respect each other’s sovereignty. We do not interfere in each other’s work. Could it be the same between Russia and Ukraine? Of course it was possible. Russians are very close people to Ukraine. Why didn’t this happen? Who is guilty? I have an opinion, but I won’t share it. But I think that opportunity was lost in the early 2000s. Ukraine’s chance to build a strong country was lost. This is my personal opinion based on my experience and knowledge. I knew all the presidents of Ukraine and worked with them except the first president of this country.

The President of Azerbaijan noted: I have been on the chair of the Azerbaijan Republic since 2003. I know what I’m talking about because I have experience and no one told me anything. I have seen many moments in Russia-Ukraine relations: tension, friendship, enmity, but it never reached the level we see today. Unfortunately, this is a sad situation and people die every day. It must be stopped. Who can stop? I don’t know.

In this ceremony, Ilham Aliyev also mentioned Russia’s interests in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus and said: Russia is Azerbaijan’s neighbor and we have very active cooperation with this country in various fields. . In the last meeting with President Putin, we talked extensively about those issues, our economic cooperation, and especially our cooperation in the field of transportation. Of course, most of the cooperation is in the humanitarian field. There are more than 300 Russian schools in Azerbaijan and people prefer to study in Russian schools. In short, as a country in the Caucasus region, we have many common issues. Because a certain part of the Caucasus is within the borders of Russia, and of course Russia will never leave this region, because it belongs to this region, and in my opinion, all the countries of the South Caucasus should be interested in establishing good relations with Russia based on mutual respect. sovereignty, territorial integrity and mutual interests. I think the example of Azerbaijan shows well that this is possible.

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