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
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 should
01:39base their strategy and policy on their potential, establish good relations with as many countries as
01:47possible, first 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
02:01interests, influences and shifting alliances. How do you assess the current balance between risk and
02:08opportunity in the region? Today, Southern Caucasus also enters a new stage of development. We live in peace
02:18only for five, six months. We are learning to do it. We never lived in peace in all our independent
02:25history. 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.
02:41Yeah.
02:41We lifted all the restrictions on cargo transportation to Armenia. Moreover, we started to supply critical
02:49commodities commodities to Armenia, primarily oil products, which the country is largely dependent
02:55on. And it's a win-win situation. So I think that by joint efforts of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
03:04including the civil society, we will achieve not long lasting peace, but peace forever in the
03:13Caucasus. This is our goal.
03:15We hope so. Yes. With Iran as your neighbor, I want also mention, how is Azerbaijan engaging with the
03:22evolving crisis that we are seeing there? And what is your assessment of its impact of stability
03:29across Eurasia, also including the energy markets?
03:34Every country, including Azerbaijan, should think about stability around its borders, beyond its borders.
03:42With respect to Azerbaijan, we do not have any potential risks inside the country.
03:50All 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. We suffered from
04:15occupation, from war, from losing thousands of victims. And today, stability and security for every country
04:25is the only way to succeed. With respect to energy market, as you see today, oil price is stable.
04:34It is at the appropriate level, at least for Azerbaijan. And it demonstrates that situation in Iran,
04:44situation 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
05:03their 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 sit in terms of being an emerging force in the energy sector
05:19and moving in towards the EU as well?
05:21With respect to energy sector, Azerbaijan is the only country in the Southern Caucasus
05:27which has energy resources and exports them to other countries of the Southern Caucasus,
05:34import 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. We already supply
05:50natural gas to 16 countries and 10 of them are members of European Union. So by this coverage,
05:59by 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.
06:16And 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
06:44this bias situation to Azerbaijan is generated by special lobbying groups, by special forces which cannot digest
06:55Azerbaijan's independent policy. So we actually, for many years already stopped any cooperation with European parliament.
07:05And also with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. We cooperate with European Commission. And for us, it is enough.
07:13But I think the European Parliament puts itself in a very awkward situation, accusing us of what we have never done,
07:22including 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 initialed in the White House.
07:41So I hope that members of the European Parliament will find the courage to reconsider the 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.
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