00:00Hello and welcome to Eurasia Talks from Davos, and I'm delighted to be joined today by Azerbaijan's
00:09president, Mr. Ilham Elieff. Thank you so much for joining us today. It's wonderful to see you.
00:16As you join world leaders here in Davos, we are at this moment witnessing a fundamental
00:21reassessment of the existing international system. Now, you've warned about this shift before.
00:28How does your country engage with this changing world order? And what is your message to world
00:34leaders? Actually, as you mentioned, we've been facing a situation when international law norms
00:41were not obligatory for all the actors of international community. Therefore, our strategic
00:50goal was to achieve results based on our national interest and with all respect to international
01:00law do what we thought was right. And everything what we've done, whether it's political development
01:07or restoration of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, was in line with international
01:13law and common values. So today, as you mentioned, international relations are entering the new era,
01:23era where it is not the rule of law, but the rule of strength is ruling the situation. We can see it
01:33in different parts of the world. Therefore, it once again signals that every country should base their
01:41strategy and policy on their potential, establish good relations with as many countries as possible,
01:48first in your region and second on a global scale. Amid the historic peace deal in Armenia,
01:55the South Caucasus is evolving fast in a global context, you know, after decades of competing interests,
02:01influences and shifting alliances. How do you assess the current balance between risk and opportunity
02:09in the region? Today, Southern Caucasus also enters a new stage of development. We live in peace only for
02:19five, six months, five, six months. We are learning to do it. We never lived in peace in all our
02:24independent history. And it's a special feeling. And of course, it's a great opportunity. Today,
02:31relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan are already evolving into a cooperation. Yeah, we lifted all the
02:43restrictions on cargo transportation to Armenia. Moreover, we started to supply critical
02:49commodities to Armenia, primarily oil products, which the country is largely dependent on. And it's a
02:57win-win situation. So I think that by joint efforts of Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the
03:05civil society, we will achieve not long lasting peace, but peace forever in the Caucasus. This is our goal.
03:15We hope so. Yes. With Iran as your neighbor, I want also mention, how is Azerbaijan engaging with the evolving
03:22crisis that we are seeing there? And what is your assessment of its impact of stability across Eurasia, also
03:31including the energy markets?
03:34Every country, including Azerbaijan, should think about stability around its borders, beyond its borders. With respect to
03:44Azerbaijan, we do not have any potential risks inside the country. All the potential risks can come from
03:53outside. Therefore, for us, stability in our neighborhood is something which we always think about. And we've been
04:02concerned about some destabilization in Iran. And for us, stability, predictability, and peace in the region
04:12is the biggest asset. We suffered from occupation, from war, from losing thousands of victims. Yeah. And today, stability and
04:23security for every country is the only way to succeed. With respect to energy market, as you see today, oil price is stable. It is at the
04:35appropriate level, at least for Azerbaijan. And it demonstrates that situation in Iran, situation in Venezuela and in other parts of the world do not seriously influence the price of oil.
04:53And this is a good sign, because producers and consumers, they need to know the predictability of the situation in order to plan their future. So I hope that situation in the Southern Caucasus and around it will not deteriorate.
05:12Where do you feel that the South Caucasus sits in terms of being an emerging force in the energy sector and moving in towards the EU as well?
05:21With respect to energy sector, Azerbaijan is the only country in the Southern Caucasus, which has energy resources and exports them to other countries of the Southern Caucasus, import energy resources from Azerbaijan, Georgia for many years, and now Armenia.
05:41And with respect to Europe and European Union, our energy cooperation is growing.
05:48Yes.
05:49We already supply natural gas to 16 countries, and 10 of them are members of European Union.
05:57So by this coverage, by geographical coverage of supply of pipeline gas, Azerbaijan is number one in the world.
06:05We have resources, we have transportation system, modern pipelines.
06:12We have good relations with many European countries, and for them it's a way to strengthen the energy security.
06:21For us, it's an opportunity to sell our resources on the premium market.
06:27How do you feel and how do you react to this constant criticism of Azerbaijan from the EU parliament?
06:34Well, we do not react any longer.
06:38We stopped reacting.
06:39We did react in the past.
06:41But, of course, it's so obvious that this bias situation to Azerbaijan is generated by special lobbying groups, by special forces, which cannot digest Azerbaijan's independent policy.
06:58So we actually, for many years, already stopped any cooperation with European Parliament, and also with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
07:10We cooperate with European Commission, and for us, it is enough.
07:14But I think European Parliament puts itself in a very awkward situation, accusing us of what we have never done, including so-called our aggressive position towards Armenia,
07:28while Armenia, while Armenia itself appreciates the relationship with Azerbaijan.
07:34And last August, the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan was initialed in the White House.
07:41So I hope that members of European Parliament will find the courage to reconsider their unfair policy towards Azerbaijan.
07:51Mr. President, always a pleasure talking to you. Thank you for joining us on Euronews this morning.
07:55Thank you for invitation.
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