Foreign policy of Azerbaijan

Armenia

Tensions between modern Azerbaijan and Armenia have deep historical roots. In the late 1980s, the Armenian majority of the population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Azerbaijan SSR made demands for the transfer of the region to the Armenian SSR . These requirements were supported by the leadership of Armenia. The escalating ethno-political conflict led to ethnic cleansing on both sides and armed clashes, which after the collapse of the USSR turned into a full-scale war , during which some areas of Azerbaijan adjacent to the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Republic came under the control of the Armenians. Since the late 1980s, the Azerbaijani leadership imposed an economic blockade on the NKAR and Armenia, cutting off transport links with Armenia.

In 1994, with the mediation of Russia , Azerbaijan , Armenia, and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic signed a tripartite ceasefire ^[2] , which is periodically violated with mutual accusations ^{[3] [4]} . The parties occupy positions corresponding to their position at the time of signing the agreement. Most of Nagorno-Karabakh , as well as a number of territories adjacent to it, are controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic , which maintains close ties with the Republic of Armenia , in particular, using its national currency, the dram .

Azerbaijan and other UN member states consider Nagorno-Karabakh a part of Azerbaijan . The leadership of Azerbaijan has repeatedly emphasized that if the Armenian side does not liberate the occupied territories and no progress occurs in the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process, this will mean that all peaceful possibilities for resolving the conflict have been exhausted and Azerbaijan will be forced to resort to forceful methods of resolving it ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]} . The need for a new war in Karabakh is also discussed by many members of the republic’s parliament ^[11] . Azerbaijan is building up military power, which provokes a negative reaction from a number of pro-Armenian US congressmen , and states the need to isolate Armenia from regional projects ^{[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]} .

Citizens of Armenia and other states of Armenian origin will be denied entry to Azerbaijan ^{[17] [18]} .

On November 2, 2008, the presidents of Azerbaijan , Armenia and Russia signed a declaration regarding the Karabakh conflict . The leaders of the three states agreed to work together to improve the situation in the Caucasus. “The Presidents, having substantively and meaningfully discussed the state and prospects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement by political means by continuing the direct dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia through the mediation of Russia, the USA and France, declare that they will contribute to improving the situation in the South Caucasus and ensuring the establishment of stability in the region , security through a political settlement of the conflict, ”the declaration said.

see also

• History of Nagorno-Karabakh
• Karabakh conflict
• Karabakh war
• Madrid principles

Georgia

Georgia and Azerbaijan have a common border of 428 km. Bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries were officially approved on June 16, 1919 ^[19] , when the Azerbaijan and Georgian Democratic Republics signed the first treaty ^[20] . In 1922, both became allied parts of the USSR . Both states regained their independence in 1991 and on November 18, 1992 diplomatic relations were established between them. In October 1997, Azerbaijan and Georgia, together with two other states, founded the GUAM organization ^[21] . In 1999, the Baku-Supsa gas pipeline was launched.

One of the main joint economic projects between Azerbaijan and Georgia is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline , which opened on July 13, 2006 ^[22] . The project agreement was signed back in 1998 in Ankara in the presence of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and other dignitaries. The president of Azerbaijan , Heydar Aliyev , signed the agreement from Azerbaijan, and the representative of Georgia was Eduard Shevardnadze , the then president of Georgia. On October 12, 2005, the inauguration of the Georgian section took place. Oil from the block of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields and condensate from the Shah-Deniz field are pumped through this pipeline. 443 km of the pipeline passes through the territory of Azerbaijan, and 249 - Georgia.

Another important project in Azerbaijani-Georgian relations is the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline , which supplies Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea to Georgia and Turkey. The gas pipeline was launched in 2007 ^[23] .

In 2007, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was also launched, the opening of which took place on October 30, 2017 ^[24] .

According to 2013 data, Azerbaijan ranked second (after Turkey) in Georgia’s foreign trade ^[19] .

Russia

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation were established on April 4, 1992 . The fundamental document of the legal framework of bilateral relations is the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan (signed on July 3, 1997 ) ^[25] .

Russia takes an active part in the process of political settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Trade and economic cooperation is developing. In 2008, the foreign trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to $ 2.403 billion. In connection with the cessation of the supply of Russian gas to Azerbaijan from January 1, 2007, the share of non-primary goods in the structure of commodity circulation increased.

Azerbaijan transports oil through the territory of the Russian Federation along the Baku-Novorossiysk route. Since 2007, in connection with the commissioning of a new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil transportation route and the redistribution of export flows of Azerbaijani oil, transit through Russian territory has significantly decreased.

Russia participates in the oil and gas projects of Azerbaijan, has its share in international consortia. Lukoil owns 10% in the development of the Shah Deniz field and 80% in the D-222 project. At the same time, it is the only large Russian company working here, and the volume of Russian investments in the Azerbaijani economy is rather modest in comparison with Western investments.

The problem of employment in Azerbaijan is mainly solved through migration to Russia. The number of Azerbaijanis working in Russia is estimated at about 2 million. According to various estimates, they annually send up to two and a half billion dollars to Azerbaijan. In this regard, Azerbaijan is closely monitoring manifestations of anti-Muslim sentiments in Russia (see Interethnic Conflict in Kondopoga ). Baku does not forget how in the mid-1990s, Russian-Azerbaijani economic contacts were frozen for almost three years in connection with the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

Military-technical cooperation is developing. In 2003 , an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation was signed, and in 2006 an intergovernmental agreement on the mutual protection of intellectual property rights used and obtained during bilateral military-technical cooperation.

Until 2012, Russia rented a Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan, one of the components of the Russian ballistic missile tracking system . The Gabala radar station was built in Soviet times as one of the most important elements of the USSR missile defense system. After Azerbaijan gained independence and the radar became its property, Russia continued to use it, despite all the ups and downs of Azerbaijan’s internal political life.

Only in 2002, an agreement was signed on the status, principles and conditions for the use of the Gabala Radar Station (Daryal radar) by Russia, and in 2007 - an intergovernmental protocol on the status of authorized representatives of Russia and Azerbaijan appointed to implement this agreement.

In 2007, the Russian proposal to use the Qabala radar in the US missile defense system was supported by the Azerbaijani leadership.

The issue of the work of the Gabala radar station has repeatedly become the subject of domestic political debate, including in the Azerbaijani parliament.

On December 10, 2012, Russia suspended the operation of the Gabala radar station because the parties did not agree on the rental value. In 2013, the radar was transferred to Azerbaijan, Russian troops left the garrison, and all equipment was dismantled and transported to Russia.

On the territory of Azerbaijan there are many refugees from Chechnya, including participants in armed operations against Russian troops. The Azerbaijani territory for a long time, according to media reports, was used by the Chechen separatists as a transit country and a kind of rear base, where, in particular, wounded militants were rebuilt. The militants were relatively easy to cross the border between Azerbaijan and Dagestan. On September 15, 2004, after the terrorist attack in Beslan , the Russian authorities closed all border land crossings for vehicles and people and opened them only a month and a half after the negotiations between the presidents, as well as the detentions and extradition of former militants to the Russian authorities. A Chechen representative office was closed in Baku.

Currently, it is reported on the development of interaction between law enforcement and judicial authorities of the two countries, the development of border cooperation, taking into account the general situation in the Caucasus and based on the tasks of the fight against international terrorism.

The delimitation of the state border with Azerbaijan continues. As of the beginning of 2008, the agreed border line, drawn up by working protocols, cartographic and descriptive documents, amounted to 301.1 km (out of 336.5 km), that is, 90% of the state border was delimited.

Some other aspects of Russian-Azerbaijani relations :

• In the early 1990s Azerbaijan expressed concern over Russian support for the Armenian armed forces during the Karabakh war .
• In the mid 2000s Azerbaijan expressed concern about the transfer of Russian military equipment from the closing military bases in Georgia to Gyumri ( Armenia ) ^[12] and the impact that it may have on the prospects for a Karabakh settlement.
• Azerbaijan has repeatedly protested against the fact that Russian companies invest and do business in the territory of NK.
• Azerbaijan is concerned about Russia's calls to solve the problem of unrecognized republics in the post-Soviet space according to the model of Kosovo - as well as Russia's accomplished recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia ^[13] .
• Russia expresses dissatisfaction with the US- initiated projects for exporting Caspian oil to the West, bypassing Russia, considering them more political than economic projects. Following the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, we are talking about a project to create an oil pipeline along the Aktau-Baku route for the transit of Kazakh oil to the West through the territory of Azerbaijan - if sold, the bulk of Kazakh oil will go through the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and, accordingly, bypassing Of Russia.

Belarus

Azerbaijan-Belarus relations were established on June 11, 1993 ^{[26] [27]} . Only in August 2001 the first visit of the Belarusian delegation to Azerbaijan took place ^[28] . In 2006, embassies of the two countries were opened in the capitals ^[29] . In 2006, in October, the first official visit of the Azerbaijani president to Belarus took place, during which an agreement was signed on socio-economic cooperation until 2015 ^[30] . On November 14, 2008, an agreement on military cooperation was signed between Azerbaijan and the Republic of Belarus. On November 28, 2015, in Minsk, in the presence of Presidents Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev, an Agreement on Socio-Economic Cooperation between Belarus and Azerbaijan until 2025 was signed ^[31] .

Romania

Romania officially recognized the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which was restored on October 18, 1991, December 11, 1991 ^[32] . Bilateral Azerbaijani-Romanian diplomatic relations were established on June 21, 1992 ^[33] . On July 2, 1995, the then President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, made his first official visit to Romania. And the first official visit of the Romanian president to Baku was in March 1996.

A working group operates in the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which was created on December 5, 2000 ^[34] .

In April 2010, in Bucharest, Azerbaijan, Romania and Georgia signed an agreement on the supply of liquefied natural gas from Azerbaijan ^[35] .

USA

The United States established diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan in 1992, almost immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union . The United States is looking for new ways of partnership with Azerbaijan, is helping to ensure regional security and stability, increase energy security, as well as economic and political reforms in Azerbaijan. The United States supports Azerbaijan’s efforts to peacefully resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict .

In November 1992, the Embassy of Azerbaijan was opened in Washington ^[36] .

In 1994, the Contract of the Century was signed , in which such large US oil companies as Amoko, Pennzoil, Unocal, Exxon took part. In the Contract of the Century, 47% of the investment was in US companies ^[37] .

In December 1996, the official opening of the US Chamber of Commerce took place in Azerbaijan ^[38] .

The basis of relations between the two countries in 2003-2010 was the transnational strategic principles put forward in the Joint Statement signed by the presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan and the United States during the Istanbul Istanbul Summit in 1999 .

On November 19, 2001, Azerbaijan was admitted as an associate member to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly .

On April 28, 2006, in Washington, at the White House, a meeting was held between Ilham Aliyev and President of the United States of America George W. Bush. At the meeting, the parties discussed the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project, as well as the situation in the region and in the international arena. On September 21, 2017 in New York, as part of the 72nd UN Assembly, Ilham Aliyev met with US President Donald Trump ^[39] .

On August 10, 2018, Aliyev received a delegation led by the chairman of the Permanent Special Intelligence Committee of the US House of Representatives Devin Nunez ^[40] .

Ukraine

On November 19, 1991, an agreement "On the Foundations of Interstate Relations between Ukraine and the Azerbaijan Republic" was signed between the two countries. Azerbaijani-Ukrainian diplomatic relations were established on February 6, 1992. During 1992-1994, a number of agreements were signed ^[41] .

On January 25, 1995, the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and Azerbaijan was signed.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Azerbaijan began its work on May 5, 1996, and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Ukraine was opened a little later, on March 12, 1997 ^[42] .

In March 1997, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation.

Countries together with Georgia and Moldova are the founders of GUAM ^[43] .

In 2000, a number of agreements were signed between the two countries on cooperation in the fight against economic and financial irregularities, in the field of government communications, on the protection of state borders, etc.

On June 3, 2004, an agreement was signed between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of Azerbaijan on cooperation in the fight against smuggling and violation of customs regulations, as well as the illegal circulation of ammunition, explosives, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors ^[44] .

Since 2009, a high-level interstate body has been operating - the Council of Presidents of Ukraine and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Board meetings are held annually.

On July 14, 2016, a ceremony of signing a number of Azerbaijani-Ukrainian documents was held. The Chairman of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Chairman of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine signed the “Protocol on cooperation between the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine in the fight against customs offenses when transporting goods by air.” The adopted program between the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan on cooperation in the field of culture and arts for 2016-2020 played an important role in the development of cultural relations within the framework of Azerbaijani-Ukrainian cooperation ^[45] .

On February 6, 2017, the parties celebrated the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Israel

Israel officially recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on December 25, 1991. Azerbaijan and Israel established diplomatic relations on April 7, 1992. In August 1993, the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan opened.

Israel is the second largest importer of oil from Azerbaijan. Israel satisfies 30 percent of its needs for petroleum products through Azerbaijani oil . February 20, 2007 between the governments of Israel and Azerbaijan, an agreement was concluded on the mutual protection of investments.

In 2009, the Israeli defense company Elbit Systems opened a representative office in Azerbaijan, and the Ministry of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan begins production of UAVs .

On December 13, 2016 in Baku, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree approving a memorandum on the creation of an intergovernmental commission for cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan. The memorandum was signed during the first visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to Azerbaijan in 20 years. As part of the meeting, other agreements on cooperation in such areas as standardization, conformity assessment and metrology, in the field of agriculture were also signed. The parties also signed a convention on the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income between Azerbaijan and Israel ^[46] .

In April 2017, double taxation was approved between the two countries.

About 15,000 mountain and other Jews live in Azerbaijan. Three Jewish communities function on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan: 1 - community of mountain Jews ; 2 - Ashkenazi Jewish community; 3 - a community of Georgian Jews. Several synagogues operate in the capital of Azerbaijan, as well as in the cities of Guba and Oguz . In September 2003, the first Jewish school was opened in Baku. The first official Hebrew courses were opened in Azerbaijan in 1987. There are 5 Jewish schools in Baku and Guba, in which 1,450 students are studying. In Guba there is the village of Krasnaya Sloboda , which is a place of compact residence of mountain Jews ^{[47] [48]} .

Iran

Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran still remain quite tense. They escalated after a caricature scandal surrounding the publication in the government-run Iran newspaper of a caricature and text offensive to Azerbaijanis. The cartoon depicts a boy repeating the word "cockroach" in Farsi, until the cockroach in front of him asks him in Azerbaijani: "What?"

In August 2007, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made an official visit to Azerbaijan, during which important agreements were signed for the two countries. Among them are the construction of two hydroelectric power stations on the Araz River (Ordubad - for Azerbaijani funds, and Marazad - for Iranian funds), simplification of the visa regime between the Nakhichevan autonomy and Iran, the construction of a new automobile route between the Iranian and Azerbaijani sides of the city of Julfa and Nakhichevan autonomy ^[49] .

The crisis that arose around the Iranian nuclear program, and Russian-American controversy over the deployment of missile defense in the event of an "Iranian threat," could not but affect Azerbaijan. In an interview with Russian television on October 18, 2006, Ilham Aliyev said:

On March 5, 2017, as part of a trilateral meeting between Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, Ilham Aliyev and Hassan Rouhani signed a memorandum of understanding between railway companies ^[51] . On July 19 of that year, Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the approval of this memorandum of understanding between the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC and the Iranian Railways for the development of railways ^[52] .

Kazakhstan

Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were established on August 27, 1992 ^[53] .

In 1993, the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan Friendship Society was formed in Baku. In March 1994, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan was opened in Kazakhstan, and on December 16, 1994, the Kazakhstan Embassy was opened in Azerbaijan.

On November 29, 2001, the presidents of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Azerbaijan signed the “Agreement on the delimitation of the bottom of the Caspian Sea” during the CIS summit in Moscow.

Since September 2008, the Azerbaijani Consulate General began work in Aktau .

On August 14, 2013, an Agreement was signed by Azersun Holding to build a logistics center in the free economic zone Aktau Sea Port for the storage, processing and transportation of Azerbaijani fruits and vegetables, the construction of which was completed in 2016.

On August 12, 2018, as part of the Fifth Caspian Summit in the Kazakh city of Aktau, an international agreement was signed between Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan on the legal status of the Caspian Sea ^[54] .

Turkey

After the restoration of independence of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani-Turkish diplomatic relations were established on January 14, 1992. Since January 1992, the diplomatic mission of Turkey has been operating in Azerbaijan, and since August of the same year, the diplomatic mission of Azerbaijan in Turkey ^[55] . Countries have a state border with a length of 17 km. The Turkish Embassy in Baku and two Consulates General in Nakhichevan and Ganja operate in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Embassy is located in Ankara, and Consulate Generals are located in Istanbul and Kars.

In January 1992, an agreement was signed on military cooperation between the two countries.

On September 20, 1994, the “Contract of the Century” was signed, in which Turkey was represented by Turk Petrolars. On July 13, 2006, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline was launched on the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Ceyhan terminal. The Turkish part of the pipeline amounted to 1076 km ^[56] .

On March 12, 2001, during an official visit to the Azerbaijani President in Turkey, the "Agreement on the sale and purchase of natural gas between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey for the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to the Republic of Turkey" was signed. Thus, the foundation was laid for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey in the gas sector. In January 2007, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline was commissioned ^[57] .

In January 2005, an agreement was signed between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia on the creation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route. On February 7, 2007, an intergovernmental agreement was signed. On October 30, 2017, the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway took place, in the ceremony of which the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan took part ^[58] .

On December 26, 2011, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Turkey and Azerbaijan, a consortium for the construction and operation of the TANAP gas pipeline, which is part of the Southern Gas Corridor and connected to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The construction of TANAP began in 2015 ^[59] . On June 12, 2018, the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline was opened in the Turkish province of Eskisehir, on which the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey launched the gas pipeline ^[60] .

Azerbaijan is a member of such organizations as the United Nations , Non-Aligned Movement , CIS , OSCE , NATO Peace Partnership , EAPC , World Health Organization , Asian Development Bank , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , European Bank for Reconstruction and Development , Council of Europe , CFE Treaty , IMF and World the bank .

UN

Azerbaijan was admitted to the UN on March 2, 1992 at the 46th plenary session of the General Assembly . The Azerbaijani delegation began work at the UN on May 6, 1992 , and in 1993 the UN office was opened in Azerbaijan ^[61] . Since 1995, in addition to the organization itself, the country has maintained ties with specialized agencies, UN commissions ( UNESCO ^[62] , UNICEF ^[63] , ECOSOC (the country was elected to membership for 2017-2019 ^[64] ), Commission on the Status of Women , Commission for human rights ). Azerbaijan is also a member of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development ^[65] .

In July 2016, the country and the organization signed the UN-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework Document (UNAPF) for 2016–2020 ^{[66] [67]} . As of 2018, it was announced that Azerbaijan had already spent about $ 5 million on the implementation of joint projects between the UN and Azerbaijan within the framework of the partnership agreement ^[68] .

OSCE

Azerbaijan was admitted to the CSCE (now the OSCE) on January 30, 1992 ^[69] , and on December 20, 1993 joined the Paris Charter . On June 21, 1992, a conference was convened in Minsk , where they established the Minsk Group on the search for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict ^[70] . In 1999, she joined the Charter for European Security , which was signed in Istanbul at the OSCE Summit ^[71] .

In Baku , the OSCE office was opened on July 18, 2000 .

NATO

In March 1992, the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, and on May 4, 1994 , when Baku joined the NATO Partnership for Peace NATO program ^[72] . Since 1999, the peacekeeping group of Azerbaijan as part of the Turkish Camp began to take part in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo , since 2002 - in Afghanistan , and since March 2003 - in Iraq . On May 25, 2011, Baku joined the Non-Aligned Movement .

GUAM

The cooperation of Azerbaijan , Georgia , Ukraine and Moldova began in 1996 in Vienna , Austria . During the Council of Europe summit in 1997, the presidents of these states declared their interests in developing regional cooperation. The presidency of Azerbaijan in GUAM began on July 19, 2007 at the Baku Summit and lasted until July 1, 2008.

BSEC

Relations between Azerbaijan and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation were established on June 25, 1992 , when the Treaty on the Black Sea Economic Cooperation between 11 states was signed ^[73] . Azerbaijan and the BSEC cooperate in agriculture, finance, education, culture, tourism, trade, transport, energy, healthcare, etc. ^[74] . Since January 1, 2015, the Secretary General of the BSEC Parliamentary Assembly has been Asaf Hajiyev, representative of Azerbaijan ^[75] .

• Caviar Diplomacy
• Azerbaijan and NATO
• Azerbaijan and the European Union