No territory of a sovereign country can be changed by force. The norms of international law should be the basis for every country, and there can be no discrimination here, – President of Azerbaijan Aliyev stated at the meeting with Prime Minister of Georgia Kobakhidze and added that his country “suffered from occupation for many years” and to restore sovereignty and territorial integrity, is well aware that the norms of international law are sometimes restored by the use of force. The UN Charter recognizes the right of each country to self-defense, and Azerbaijan, using this right, has restored its territorial integrity, Aliyev said.
Basically, Aliyev made two important points. He recognizes that the territory of Georgia has been changed by the use of force, international law is not the basis of state policy in the case of Russia, the assessment of the actual situation should not be discriminatory or selective. In other words, the international community should not recognize the secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia. The second message is that Georgia has the right to self-defense and to restore its territorial integrity by force, according to the UN Charter.
It is important to note that, visiting Tbilisi before the extraordinary presidential elections, Aliyev did not allow himself to make such statements after the meeting with the former Prime Minister of Georgia Garibashvili.
What has changed in the past months? It is especially important to note that Aliyev makes an almost openly anti-Russian statement after the visit of Russian Prime Minister Mishustin to Baku and the agreement in principle between the parties regarding the North-South international transport corridor.
Is Moscow putting pressure on him through closed channels or has something “changed” or is “changing” in Russian-Georgian relations? The former Prime Minister of Georgia Garibashvili publicly stated at least twice that he will not go to confrontation with Russia, because it is a threat to Georgia’s security. The change of the prime minister of Georgia implies a “sanctification” of that trajectory? Did Aliyev coordinate his statement with Kobakhidze or did he use the opportunity to convey “something” to Russia?
It is striking that Aliyev talks about Georgia’s right to self-defense on the eve of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg’s regional visit. Stoltenberg will start his tour from Baku, then he will go to Georgia, and from there to Armenia. It seems that it is planned that he will make a concluding statement in Yerevan. What is the mission of the NATO Secretary General? Does the North-Atlantic alliance seek to bring the individual partnership cooperation with the countries of the South Caucasus into some kind of institutional form, connecting the region with Ukraine and Moldova? Stoltenberg will also meet Defense Minister Hasanov in Baku. Azerbaijan plans to fully comply with NATO standards with the active support of Turkey.
It is possible that there are Russian-Azerbaijani disagreements in this regard, and by aggravating the issue of territorial integrity of Georgia, Aliyev is simply creating a Russian-Georgian intrigue. In practice, it is certainly unlikely that Georgia would attempt to reassert sovereignty in Abkhazia and South Ossetia by force. But solving the problem is not excluded. Of course, Azerbaijan’s “encouragement” for Georgia can quickly turn into a trap, but that will be Tbilisi’s problem. At this stage, it seems that it is beneficial for Aliyev that not only Russian-Armenian, but also Russian-Georgian relations are complicated. It frees him qualitatively from dependence on Moscow.
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