00:00Hello and welcome to Eurasia Talks from Davos, and I'm delighted to be joined today by Azerbaijan's
00:09President, Mr. Ilham Eliev. 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
00:27before. How does your country engage with this changing world order? And what is your message
00:33to world leaders? Well, actually, as you mentioned, we've been facing a situation when international
00:40law norms were 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
01:22era, era where it is not the rule of law, but the rule of strength is ruling the situation.
01:32We can see it in different parts of the world. Therefore, it once again signals that every country
01:39should base the strategy and policy on their potential, establish good relations with as many
01:47countries as possible, first in your region and second on a global scale.
01:52Amid the historic peace deal in Armenia, the South Caucasus is evolving fast in a global context,
01:59you know, after decades of competing interests, influences and shifting alliances. How do you assess
02:05the current balance between risk and opportunity in the region? Today, Southern Caucasus also enters a new
02:14stage of development. We live in peace only for five, six months. We are learning to do it. We never
02:22lived in peace in all our independent history. And it's a special feeling. And of course, it's a great
02:30opportunity. Today, relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan are already evolving into a
02:39cooperation. Yeah. We lifted all the restrictions on cargo transportation to Armenia. Moreover, we started
02:47to supply critical commodities to Armenia, primarily oil products, which the country is largely dependent on.
02:56And it's a win-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 in crisis that we are seeing there? And what is your assessment of its impact of
03:28stability across Eurasia, also including the energy markets?
03:34Every country, including Azerbaijan, should think about stability around its borders, beyond its borders.
03:43With respect to Azerbaijan, we do not have any potential risks inside the country.
03:49All the potential risks can come from outside. Therefore, for us, stability in our neighborhood
03:57is something which we always think about. And we've been concerned about some destabilization
04:05in Iran. And for us, stability, predictability and peace in the region is the biggest asset.
04:13We suffered from occupation, from war, from losing thousands of victims. And today, stability and security
04:23for every country is the only way to succeed. With respect to energy market, as you see today,
04:32oil price is stable. It is at the appropriate level, at least for Azerbaijan. And it demonstrates that
04:41situation in Iran, situation in Venezuela and in other parts of the world do not seriously influence the
04:51price of oil. And this is a good sign because producers and consumers, they need to know the
05:00predictability of the situation in order to plan their future. So I hope that situation in the Southern
05:07Caucasus 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
05:18sector 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
05:28resources and exports them to other countries of the Southern Caucasus, import energy resources from
05:36Azerbaijan. Georgia for many years and now Armenia. And with respect to Europe and European Union, our energy
05:46cooperation is growing. We already supply natural gas to 16 countries and 10 of them are members of European Union. So 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. We have good relations with many European countries. And for them, it's a way to strengthen the energy security. For us, it's 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?
06:33Well, we do not react any longer. We stopped reacting. We did react in the past. But 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.
06:57So we actually, for many years, for many years already stopped any cooperation with European Parliament and also with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
07:09We cooperate with European Commission. And for us, it is enough. But 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, while Armenia itself appreciates the relationship with Azerbaijan.
07:33And last August, the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan was initiated in the White House. So I hope that members of the 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 the invitation.
07:56Thank you.
07:57Thank you.
07:57Thank you.
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