BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 27. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya TV channel. The interview with the head of state was broadcast on the channel on August 26. Trend presents the interview.
Journalist: Dear viewers of Al Arabiya channel, we would like to greet you from the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the beautiful city of Baku. Today, I will have the honor of conducting a special interview with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Of course, this meeting comes in the period following the agreement signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump. Today, we are living through those historic days, and we will discuss this very issue. At the same time, we will also talk about Azerbaijan’s role between East and West. Likewise, we will discuss Azerbaijan’s role in the South Caucasus. Mr. President, welcome to Al Arabiya channel.
President Ilham Aliyev: I am very glad to see you. Welcome to Azerbaijan.
Journalist: Thank you, Mr. President. With your permission, I would now like to refer to that historic agreement signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan through the mediation efforts of Donald Trump. I would like to know your vision in general. How long will it go after all?
President Ilham Aliyev: I think what happened in Washington on the 8th of August is actually the end of the confrontation and the end of the standoff. We’ve been at war with Armenia for a long time. It was Armenia that occupied Azerbaijani territories since the beginning of the 1990s. At that time, Azerbaijan was very weak. We didn’t have an army, and Armenia had external supporters who backed them in the occupation of Azerbaijani territories.
As a result, almost 20 percent of our territories were occupied, and we had one million refugees. At that time, it was one of the highest ratios per capita; the population of Azerbaijan was 8 million, so one million were homeless.
The First Karabakh War ended in 1994 with a ceasefire, and we were engaged in a series of endless and, as we have seen, useless negotiations, which lasted until 2020 – when the Second Karabakh War started and we liberated our internationally recognized territories. Almost five years ago, during the 44-day Patriotic War, Azerbaijan restored justice, international law, and its dignity, and returned our lands. After that, there was a certain vacuum in the process, because at that time mediators did not know what they should do next. Once again, it was Azerbaijan that offered to start a peace process with Armenia. We initiated the format of negotiations and introduced a draft peace agreement. In fact, what was initialled in Washington on the 8th of August was based on the Azerbaijani vision of how interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be framed.
So, the negotiations lasted, as I said, for several years and ended in Washington with the great support of President Trump and his team. Actually, I think that this is the end of the conflict, the end of the war. Formally, the peace agreement was not signed for one particular reason: there is still a provision in the Armenian constitution that casts doubt on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
So, they will make an amendment, as far as we understand. As soon as this amendment to the constitution is made and territorial claims to Azerbaijan are deducted from the constitution, the formal peace agreement will be signed.
The fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia initialled this document at the White House, in front of President Trump, means that it’s the end of the war — a war that lasted in stages for more than 30 years — and it opens absolutely new opportunities for the South Caucasus region and the broader regions of Central Asia and the Middle East.
Journalist: Mr. President, you noted the amendment to the Armenian constitution, and now, when we talk about the peace – is there any internal political change, if it happens in Armenia, will it harm the process?
President Ilham Aliyev: It’s difficult to say; I can only guess. I hope that nothing will interfere with the process. But again, I don’t have 100 percent guarantees because I am not well aware of the internal politics of Armenia. We know that next summer they will hold parliamentary elections. We know that they are working on the draft of a new constitution. But if there is strong external interference, then yes, we may think that something could break what has been agreed, but that would be very harmful for Armenia itself. Because no matter who signed the documents in Washington, they were signed on behalf of Armenia by the Armenian leader. If something happens with respect to the changes, and they step back from what has been signed, that would seriously deteriorate relations between Armenia and the United States. And not only the United States, but the international community supported this process — Europe supported, Türkiye supported, our friends in Arab countries supported — so the entire international community. We are positive with respect to that, so breaking this arrangement would mean going against the entire world. And what would they gain? For Armenia, what was signed in Washington is a guarantee for peace and stable development.
I spoke a little bit about the First Karabakh War, but you know, in order to illustrate what happened to us, we would probably need days and months. There was ethnic cleansing, there was the Khojaly genocide, innocent people were killed. We still have more than 3,000 people missing, and there were strong emotional feelings here in Azerbaijan.
Even when the war of 2020 ended with our victory, there were still people in Azerbaijan who demanded revenge. But I told them at that time, when I addressed the people, that we had taken revenge on the battlefield. We will not do to them what they have done to us, because what they have done to us were war crimes.
So what I am trying to say is that if any future government of Armenia, no matter when it comes to power, puts under doubt what has been signed in Washington, Armenia will face serious complications, because the balance of power in the region is absolutely in our favor from all points of view. I think it's obvious to everyone, and if Armenia again puts under doubt our territorial integrity, we will respond adequately.
The importance of what has been signed in Washington is that both sides recognize each other’s territorial integrity and will plan their future interactions based on this fundamental thesis of international law. So if they stop recognizing our territorial integrity, we will do the same with theirs. And who will win and who will lose? I think that's a rhetorical question. So I think there will be enough wisdom and a reasonable approach from any future Armenian government not to put under doubt what we agreed in Washington.
And again, it’s an agreement between two states. It’s not an agreement between Pashinyan and me.
Journalist: Mr. President. As you have noted, the understanding should stay stable in the future. And there were a lot of tragedies in Nagorno-Karabakh. How you have started the reconstruction. Because, we would like to know IDPs both Armenian and Azerbaijani. In addition, did the Minsk Group end by this signing?
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, the dissolution of the Minsk Group was one of the conditions which Azerbaijan put forward in the very first stages of negotiations, and our logic was based on the fact that when the Minsk Group was created by the OSCE in 1992, it was created to address the Karabakh conflict. So when Armenia officially recognizes Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, and when they say that the conflict is over, that means that the legal existence of the Minsk Group becomes absurd. And if they insist on keeping it alive, that means that they still have territorial claims to Karabakh. That was the logic which formed the basis of our position, and it took us a lot of time and effort to persuade Armenia to agree that both sides should write a letter to the OSCE in order to dissolve the Minsk Group, which happened in the presence of President Trump. So now the process has started, and that will be the legal death of the Minsk Group, because it has already been dysfunctional for almost five years.
With respect to IDPs during the First Karabakh War, there were no Armenian IDPs, because Azerbaijan did not occupy the territory of Armenia. They occupied our territory. That’s why we had so many refugees and IDPs who lived in difficult conditions during those years.
We introduced the program of resettlement even during the times of occupation, because the absolute majority of them had lived in tent camps for more than a decade. So we started to abolish tent camps as soon as I became president, and we finished that process in 2007. But still, tens of thousands of them lived in very poor conditions. So now the process of return, based on the program called the “Great Return” program, has started, and we have already settled more than 50,000 people in the liberated territories. And the process is continuing.
There have been two major impediments. First, landmines; Armenians planted more than a million landmines during the times of occupation. After the Second Karabakh War ended in November 2020, until today, we have had almost 400 casualties, more than 70 killed and the rest severely injured, because of the landmines. These landmines do not allow us to have a broad, large-scale reconstruction process, because we need, first, to provide safety.
Second, there was total destruction of infrastructure in Karabakh. Our cities and villages were leveled to the ground — sanitation, water supply, electricity, railroads, highways — all was totally ruined. So we spent most of our money in the first years of reconstruction to build infrastructure, and in parallel, to rebuild villages and cities. Now we are almost in the final stage of infrastructural development. I think full infrastructure projects will be ready in maybe two to three years.
And now we are spending more money on housing projects. It is now visible — buildings are rising from the middle of nowhere, and our plan is to provide decent housing conditions and jobs for all the former IDPs. The process has started. As I said, more than 50,000 already live on their ancestral lands.
Journalist: Mr. President. In addition, I would like to know that one of main issues arising from the agreement was just to make Azerbaijani dream come true - the realization of the Zangezur corridor or we call it a Trump Route. Why Trump route has come to the table. In addition, which stage will this Trump Route promise for Azerbaijan to undergo. Of course, you will have to also support it. Will this corridor play an important strategic role between Azerbaijan and Europe?
President Ilham Aliyev: In order to answer this question, I should go into a little bit of history and just explain to the people who are watching us how it happened that Azerbaijan was divided into two parts. So it was done in the first months of the Sovietization of Azerbaijan. When the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, Azerbaijan established the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. It was the first democratic republic in the Muslim world, established in May 1918. It existed until April 1920, when the Russian army invaded Azerbaijan and occupied it. The Bolsheviks, who made a revolution in 1917, lied to the people. Their slogans were “factories to workers, land to farmers, freedom to the peoples.” We established our own state, but the Bolsheviks took it from us. In April 1920, the Russian army invaded Azerbaijan and occupied it. In November 1920, just several months after that, the Soviet Russian government decided to take Zangezur — what we call Western Zangezur — from Azerbaijan and give it to Armenia. That’s how Azerbaijan became divided into two: the mainland and Nakhchivan, with Western Zangezur in between.
During Soviet times, it was not a problem because there were no borders and no wars. People could travel freely by car or by railroad from the mainland to Nakhchivan. But after Armenia launched aggression against Azerbaijan, they cut that connection line. They cut the corridor.
Today, in order to get to Nakhchivan, we have to either fly there or go by bus or car through the territory of Iran, or even take a longer route through Georgia and Türkiye before entering Nakhchivan. So it causes a lot of inconvenience and problems. After the Second Karabakh War ended with our victory, we could have taken that part by force. At that time, the Armenian army was totally demoralized. There were 12,000 deserters who ran from the war in the Armenian army and zero in the Azerbaijani army. The Azerbaijani army was motivated; the people were motivated, and there was no one in front of us. We stopped on November 10, 2020, at our border. We didn't take that part by force, but we told Armenia that they cannot block our communications with Nakhchivan. So for almost five years, we've been negotiating with them about these connectivity lines. In the meantime, we started to build a railroad toward the Armenian border to connect it with Nakhchivan, and started to build the highways. The highway projects will probably be ready next year, as well as the railroad.
But during these almost five years of negotiations, Armenia did not demonstrate a constructive approach with respect to our demands or legitimate requests. So when President Trump and his team started to be involved in the process and wanted to facilitate, our message to them was: without the Zangezur Corridor being operational and safe, so that Azerbaijani citizens can travel safely along this 40-plus-kilometer route, there must be strong security guarantees — international security guarantees.
Only security guarantees from Armenia alone will not be enough. So Trump's administration accepted this legitimate concern with the proper attitude, and that's how it turned into TRIPP — Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. So now, when President Trump gave his name to the Zangezur Corridor, I'm sure that it will materialize very soon. From the point of building the physical infrastructure, I mean the railroad, it should not take a long time, because it's only 42 kilometers. If we were to build it ourselves, we would have done it in one year. Maybe for Armenia it will take a few more years, because we have more experience in building railroads.
Journalist: By American investors?
President Ilham Aliyev: It is not yet decided, but yes, it is possible for American investors to do it. Actually, for us, it doesn't matter. What is important for us is that it is built and that there are international security guarantees. In other words, when Azerbaijanis travel from Nakhchivan to the mainland and back, they should not feel discomfort. They should not be afraid for their security, taking into account the long-lasting standoff and hostility. So now, I think it is very close to being implemented, and it is now up to Armenia to do their part of the job. As far as we are concerned, again, I'd like to say that all infrastructure to connect the two parts of Azerbaijan on our territory is now being implemented. But it's not only about connecting the parts of Azerbaijan; it's about building a new transportation line.
Today, the Middle Corridor, one of its branches, which goes across the Caspian from Asia, goes from Azerbaijan to Georgia, to Türkiye, and then to Europe, and also to Georgian seaports. This is the only way to connect Asia with Europe through Azerbaijan. So, the Zangezur Corridor, or TRIPP, will provide an alternative route.
The second corridor will go through the territory of Armenia, and this is a benefit to Armenia. I was trying to deliver this message to my Armenian colleague: they will eventually become a transit country. Every country, if it has potential, tries to become a transit country. We, for instance, want to be a transit country. We want corridors to cross Azerbaijan from east to west and north to south.
Armenia, because of occupation, was deprived from that there is no transit going across the country. So with the Zangezur Corridor, Armenia will get transit fees from transportation. Taking into account that the volumes of cargo from Asia to Europe through Azerbaijan are growing year by year, I'm sure that the Zangezur Corridor will be an important transportation link connecting the continents.
Journalist: Mr. President. You have been speaking about the importance of Zangezur. Following the signing process, there are two teams. I mean Russia and Iran. I will start with Iran. As far as I know, the Iranian President visited Azerbaijan. He has even Azerbaijani origin. He spoke here in Azerbaijani. For the time being, following these geopolitical changes, how do you see the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, you're right. The President of Iran visited Azerbaijan. Actually, he visited Azerbaijan twice: first on an official visit, and second, he attended the summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization in the liberated Karabakh, in the city of Khankendi. We established very good working relations with him.
Yes, you're absolutely right. He's Azerbaijani. He has the same blood as I do. We speak the same language. We don't need interpreters. Actually, he demonstrated his knowledge of Azerbaijani poetry during one of the public events here, and he doesn't need any notes. He's a very talented person.
Journalist: That’s interesting.
President Ilham Aliyev: This is really a good opportunity, and I think our personal relations, as well as the relations between his administration and mine, are very constructive and very friendly. With respect to the official position of Iran toward the new development, we consider it very reasonable and very positive. When I say official position, I mean the position of the president and the Foreign Minister. This is the official position.
Journalist: The other positions…
President Ilham Aliyev: Well, we are basing our policy on those politicians who have been elected by the people of Iran and have a mandate to implement their duties. And this is the president. There have been certain voices of some former officials, who are now named as advisors. I don't know what kind of advice they give. Immediately, that reaction was very…
Journalist: You mean advisors of the leader?
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, yes. So this position is not important to us at all. It has zero importance because our interstate relations are between the governments, between the presidents, and between the foreign ministers. Therefore, we totally ignore these false narratives, which have been articulated by so-called advisors. For us, everything is clear. The position of the president is absolutely reasonable and is based on the fact that the Zangezur Corridor is not in any way a threat to Iran. There have been a lot of rumors in some media and on some internet sites that Azerbaijan is planning to occupy Zangezur, or that Azerbaijan is planning to cut the Iranian-Armenian border. That was absolutely false. We had no such intention. Again, if we wanted to do it, we would have done it in November 2020. It was very easy to do, and throughout all these five years, it was very easy to do. It's only 40 kilometers. From a military point of view, it would not take much time. From both sides — from Nakhchivan and from the mainland — you could take it
Journalist: Azerbaijan has the power…
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, of course, of course. And everybody knows it. And even those who give bad advice know that we have this power. We didn't do it because we are not aggressors. We are not a country which occupies. We are a people and a country which liberates, and that's what we've done. And our war was a just war, a liberation war, a war on our soil, and a war of restoration of justice. So from this point of view, I think that all these rumors that we were planning to cut the Armenian-Iranian border are absolutely groundless. Everybody knows that. By the way, during these five years when Armenia was blocking the opening of the Zangezur corridor, we agreed with the Iranian government, again, government to government, to build a bypass on Iranian territory, and it was called the Araz corridor, named after the river Araz. Azerbaijan has already invested a lot of money in building the bridge over the Araz river to bypass Armenia. If you look at the map, you'll see it's not difficult to do. You just come to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and then make a turn to the left, build a bridge across the river and go 40 kilometers on Iranian territory and then enter Nakhchivan again. This project is already in the implementation phase. So when the corridor through Armenia is opened, we will have two ways. We will have more opportunities to deliver cargo: one way through Iran, and another way through Armenia. We also discussed with our Iranian colleagues from the government that there may be a necessity to build a railroad on the Iranian side of the river. If that happens, if Iran does it, then part of the cargo will go through Iran. And what is more important, which some advisors who give bad advice do not understand, is…
Journalist: Again, advisors.
President Ilham Aliyev: This is not only between Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan, not only between East and West, but it is also between North and South, because today, South-North Corridor.
Journalist: I was going to ask about this. May I ask you a question?
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes.
Journalist: Will the Zangezur affect the North corridor in Iran?
President Ilham Aliyev: It will only help. Because first, the North South corridor, which originally was planned and designed, goes from North, Northern Europe, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Persian Gulf; just straight line, if you look at the map, it goes on the territory of Azerbaijan, partly just by the shore of the Caspian Sea.
Journalist: These routes converge at one point.
President Ilham Aliyev: Now, yes. So this is an authentic North-South Corridor, which is fully built on Azerbaijani territory. We have full railroad and highway connection between the Russian border and the Iranian border. The missing part is on the territory of Iran. They need to build about 150 kilometers or more, but that will take time, maybe several years. What can happen with the connection between North and South is that it can go through Zangazur. Again, if you imagine the map, it can go from Northern Europe to Russia, to Azerbaijan, and then from Azerbaijan, it can go to Zangezur, enter Nakhchivan, and from Nakhchivan, we have a railroad connection with Iran, which goes to the Persian Gulf. Actually, the Zangazur Corridor will not only be East-West, but also a North-South transportation corridor. And instead of one North-South route from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan, we will have another one from Russia to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nakhchivan, and then Iran. So it will be, I think, a win-win situation for the whole region, and there will be no losers. And I know that the Iranian government, coming back to your question, understands this, and Azerbaijan will do everything in order to strengthen regional cooperation between all the countries of the region.
Journalist: Currently, Russia, on the other side, as we know there was a shooting down of Azerbaijani plane and the relations are not the same. Will it be an attempt to revise the diplomatic relations. How do these relations go?
President Ilham Aliyev: The shooting down of an Azerbaijani civilian plane by Russia, and the reaction of Russian officials to that, created a very big frustration and disappointment in Azerbaijan. First, this shooting shouldn't have happened in the first place, because when there are drone attacks on Russian airports, they announce a special regime. They call it "carpet" in Russian (“kover”), and all the planes get a signal that there is a drone attack, and they turn back. Two weeks before this crash, the same happened with our plane, which was flying to the same Russian city, and it got the signal, so it turned back. This time they did not give this signal. They gave the signal after the plane was already shot down. They did it in order just to mislead those who would investigate. They shot it twice. O nly the professionalism and courage of the pilots made it possible for the plane to land, and fortunately it landed in Kazakhstan, not in Russia. It landed in Kazakhstan, and there was a crash. Some people survived, and we have those who gave evidence. We have two people who were in the plane who were injured by the shrapnel, which penetrated the fuselage. We have the remains of the plane, and immediately I sent the team. It's not far away. It's only a 40-minute flight. Immediately, our team was there on site, and they filmed everything, so you can find it on the Internet. All the fuselage was full of holes from shrapnel. It was damaged by a Russian air defense system. So shooting down the plane should not have happened in the first place, but it was a tragic mistake.
I can give you one example again from the Second Karabakh War, when on the last day of the war, on the ninth of November, by chance, Azerbaijan shot down a Russian helicopter which had approached the Azerbaijani border, where it shouldn't have been in the first place. Because for 30 years, Russian helicopters had never approached the Azerbaijani border from the territory of Armenia. It was coming from Armenia. So for those who shot it down, it was obvious that an Armenian helicopter was penetrating our territory, so they shot it down. Immediately, on the same day, I called the Russian president and apologized. We immediately paid compensation to the families of those who were killed—the pilots—and to the Ministry of Defense. We started an investigation, and those who made that tragic mistake were brought to justice. We haven't seen anything of that sort from the Russian side. So that tragic event on the ninth of November and our behavior made us absolutely ready to expect the same attitude toward Azerbaijan, because the two countries call themselves friends. But that was a big surprise. So until now, they have not said what happened. So this, of course, is a serious, serious situation in our bilateral relations, but we did not want to aggravate these relations. Yes, our people were disappointed, angry, and frustrated. We were waiting for the investigation, thinking that sooner or later it would come to an end. Then these unmotivated attacks on Azerbaijanis in Russia started. Two people were killed and tortured, and then the official information was that they died of a heart attack. Even if they committed a crime 20 years ago, as they say, they are people. They must not be treated like that. What kind of attitude is that? there were Azerbaijani citizens among them, as well as Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin. That was an unprecedented act against our people. We are not responsible for the deterioration of relations. We only respond in a constructive and legal manner, but we will never tolerate any sign or demonstration of aggression or disrespect towards us.
Journalist: After all this, it's just a quick question, after all this attitude. I mean, Russian attitude, are you afraid of any Russian moves in the area to stop what Azerbaijan is trying to do? I mean, on geographic level, on the corridor and everything.
President Ilham Aliyev: Well, they have the military base in Armenia with several thousands military personnel. At the same time, Armenian border with Iran and Turkiye are protected by Russian border security. There is not a single Russian soldier on Azerbaijani soil. So what may happen in Armenia I don't know, but I don't want to think about this negative scenario.
Journalist: Let me switch to something in the Middle East. You have also played a mediation role between Middle East and Israel. You are providing your support to bring natural gas to Syria. The current developments between Syria and Israel and steps that are made between them. To what point will it bring us. Is there something promising between these two countries.
President Ilham Aliyev: Well, I think that there are chances for normalization of relations between Israel and Syria. First, I'd like to respond to your comments about natural gas to Syria. You know, we didn't have any relations with the government of President Assad for more than a decade. They treated Azerbaijan in a very unfair way in our confrontation with Armenia, and they took the Armenian side, which, for us, was very strange. This was because we enjoyed strong support from Muslim countries during the years of occupation, and the Islamic Cooperation Organization always supported us. Azerbaijan is a country that highly values the principles of Islamic solidarity. So aligning with Armenia against Azerbaijan, aligning with a country that demolished mosques and kept pigs and cows in mosques, was unacceptable for us. So both sides, the team of President Assad and our team, cut all contacts for more than a decade. When the new government in Syria came to power, we were very enthusiastic about that, and definitely we supported it. I had a meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Türkiye this April, and invited him to visit Azerbaijan, and he came on an official visit. We started to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria. I sent a big team to Syria, led by the Deputy Prime Minister, to see how we could be helpful, and what we could do. We only want peace for this country, for these people who suffered for so many years, and we want them to live in peace and see development there. This started, and then the issue of shortage of electricity came to our attention, and we started to think about how we could be helpful. We had a trilateral and even quadrilateral arrangement between Azerbaijan, Syria, Türkiye, and Qatar, in order to help Syria with natural gas for conversion into electricity. So the ceremony marking the start of that process took place on the second of August. Azerbaijani gas, through Türkiye, is coming to Syria, and the Qatari government was so generous as to provide funds for that. So far, we have agreed on about 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Syria, but their demands are higher. So in the future, we can increase the volume of gas so that they experience fewer shortages.
In the meantime, negotiations between officials from Israel and Syria took place with our mediation. We want peace around us. We, as a country and people who have suffered from aggression, from war, understand what it is to be a refugee, what it is to be homeless, not to have gas, electricity, water, or food. We actually became, already for many years, a donor country. We provide financial support, humanitarian support, to almost 100 countries, more than 80 countries. So our goal was only to help, to achieve normalization, and to create a predictable situation between Israel and Syria. If we have helped even a little, we are happy with that. We see that there is a potential for normalization, and that will bring additional elements of peace and predictability to the Middle East.
Journalist: They agreed on having this normalization while respecting the unity of Syria?
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, definitely. Azerbaijan as a country which suffered from violation of territorial integrity supports territorial integrity of all the countries, and our position on that is straightforward. And again, coming back to what we discussed about Azerbaijan-Russian relations, we, from the very first days of Russian invasion to Ukraine, supported Ukraine's territorial integrity and continue to support it. Of course, unity and territorial integrity of Syria is number one precondition for any kind of relationship, and not only legal unity and control of the boundaries but physical unity. The country must have a centralized system, or at least a system which operates and functions with respect to political institutions. We are strongly against any forms of separatism, whether it was in Karabakh or in Syria or in any other place of the world.
Journalist: We understand that Azerbaijan under your leadership is playing an important role in this mediation. What about Türkiye and Israel, your mediation between these countries. You know the Kurdish issue that is matter of preoccupation for Türkiye. What about current mediation between Israel and Türkiye.
President Ilham Aliyev: Well, we are trying to be helpful when we see that there's a chance for normalization. And during the first stage of normalization between Türkiye and Israel, Azerbaijan’s role was appreciated by both countries. You know, there was a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Türkiye, and we were happy that the two countries were finding common ground. At the moment, relations between Türkiye and Israel are more tense than ever. Therefore, if we are asked to step in, we will do it. If not, we will try to use less public diplomatic efforts to help find common ground. Because what is most important is safety and security. We know very well the value of security. We've been at war, in different forms of war, for more than 30 years. So it makes you totally preoccupied with that.
For me, as President, for 17 years since I assumed office, until we liberated Karabakh, that issue was number one, number two, and number ten. I was totally preoccupied day and night. So it, of course, distracted not only me but the whole team from many other things which could have been done faster and more efficiently. So any potential threat, any even hypothetical threat of physical confrontation, is harmful for people, for countries, for the economy, for their credit rating, for everything. So we are trying to provide support based on our experience, because we have the experience of being occupied. We have the experience of being a victorious country. We have the experience of being at war, and now we have the experience of how to reach peace. We know how to do it, and also our diversified foreign policy approach allows Azerbaijan to be in the middle of events, because not many countries today can talk in a very sincere way to those who are now in difficult relations. We are ready to do it. We hope it will work. But of course, we don't want to impose ourselves on anyone. We just do what is necessary when we are asked.
Journalist: Mr. President. Two short questions. Currently, in the Middle East. There is a big role played by Azerbaijan and this role is measured by not only natural gas of Azerbaijan. The natural gas of Azerbaijan goes to European countries and to Eastern countries. Is it possible that natural gas from Azerbaijan can go to some Arabian country. Will it help the situation there in general. How are your relations with Arabian countries?
President Ilham Aliyev: With respect to energy, yes, you're right. Our main destination for natural gas is Europe. We provide gas to ten European countries, eight of which are EU members. For these countries, Azerbaijani gas plays an important role in energy security, and this role will continue to grow. I have already publicly announced our plans for the coming years. By 2030, we will have guaranteed additional 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, plus to what we have today. And the question is, how to use it and in which direction.
Of course, entering the Middle East with our natural resources is a first experience for us. We think that, as I already said, we can increase the volume of gas to Syria, and also provide gas supplies to other countries through the Arabian Gas Pipeline or through other means, such as swaps. We are also trading energy resources. We are not only selling our own oil and gas, but also working as an international trader. So our potential is bigger than one can imagine. From this point of view, I think it is an important factor.
With respect to relations with Middle Eastern countries, primarily with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, they are very good, very friendly, and very result-oriented. We have a strong partnership with these countries.
By the way, our main investors in renewable energy are companies from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. They are already investing now. And our renewable potential should not be underestimated. By 2030, based on signed contracts and investments primarily from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China, we plan to have six gigawatts of solar and wind energy.
We are also actively building hydro power stations in Karabakh; almost 300 megawatts have already been created.This is an important part of relations between Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, because we have fossil fuels and are also working actively on renewables. Together, we can carry out many good projects. For example, ADNOC, a very important energy company from the UAE, became a shareholder in one of our biggest gas fields in the Caspian. At the same time, our state company SOCAR became a shareholder in one of the oil development projects in the UAE. We are now in the active phase of working on a broad investment portfolio. Political relations are excellent. So we are focusing on practical investment projects in energy and not only in energy, but also in hospitality, tourism, and agriculture. Many projects are in the pipeline. For instance, one of the leading companies of Saudi Arabia was selected by us as a partner in building a desalination plant on the Caspian shore, which will provide many opportunities for agriculture and for people.
This is a big part of our foreign policy agenda—one of the main priorities of our foreign policy—cooperation with the Gulf countries.
Journalist: In addition, Mr. President. We think that your country is playing an important role in the regional processes. Is there any step that can be taken by Azerbaijan to make good relationship between the Sunni and Shia communities?
President Ilham Aliyev: Well, you know, in Azerbaijani society, Muslims of all faiths live as one family, and there was never any kind of division between different branches of Islam, I think yes.
Journalist: Not here but in general.
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes
Journalist: Having it as a platform. Like you are a mediator and to have it as platform of communication between them
President Ilham Aliyev: Absolutely, you're absolutely right, but this is based on our experience. It is based not only on slogans or statements, because there can be many statements, but you need to look at the core of the issue and at how these issues are being addressed in Azerbaijan. For us, first is national, ethnic identity. Second is citizenship, or perhaps citizenship comes first, along with ethnic identity. And this sectarian issue, for absolute majority of Azerbaijan is absolutely nowhere, even not on the 100th place. And Azerbaijanis, as an ethnic group, consist of representatives of different branches of Islam. But we are all united by our ethnicity, by our language, and by our state. And not only Muslims, but also representatives of other religions in Azerbaijan, feel the same.
What we've done here during the period of Independence has been to strengthen these positive trends. It's one of the few countries where Shia and Sunni Muslims pray at the same time in the same mosque. We do not divide them. And we think that the biggest threat to the Muslim world is sectarian division. And those who advocate such a division are doing the most harmful thing to the Muslim world. We must be united. We are Muslims, and for us, this is number one. We must remain absolutely free from any foreign interference. We have not only advocated for these values, but also had to protect ourselves ideologically from all kinds of penetration, from attempts to spread seeds of hatred among Muslims.
This is highly valued in the Muslim world, and my numerous meetings with the leading religious leaders of the Muslim world, demonstrate that in Muslim world, in political spectrum, or in religious spectrum there is a high appreciation of our role. So, we demonstrate that it is possible and we demonstrate a success story, and we demonstrate that there is a peace, stability and comfort. So this is what people need. People need to live in peace, to raise their children, to live happily, to have jobs, and not to be afraid that bombs will fall on their heads or that someone will put a bomb in their neighborhood.
We do many things in intercultural dialog. We have regular international conferences on intercultural dialog every second year, where we address all these important issues — not only issues which are important for Muslims, but for all religions. From this point of view, our role is mainly based on what we have done here, and this is how it can be done in other places. I think that now, in the political circles of the absolute majority of Muslim countries — and I have a lot of contacts with presidents — there is understanding that Muslims must be united, and sectarian division is a threat to our unity.
Journalist: So, you support the Gulf countries’ vision of “peace for prosperity.”
President Ilham Aliyev: Correct.
Journalist: Mr. President, you had a meeting with President Trump. I consider him an exceptional figure among American presidents. What impressed you the most during that meeting? Will you really nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize?
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes. That’s true. Together with an Armenian colleague, we nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. He really deserves it. As I said in my comments in Washington several months ago, he performed a miracle in Africa, in Asia, and in the South Caucasus. And this is his character. This is his nature. He wants peace. He is a person who is absolutely different from the traditional image of a Western leader. He is very friendly. He is very generous. He was so generous to give all his gifts, even more that was planned. He really was a person who deserves a lot of credit. That was my first meeting with him. But my attitude to him as a politician was always positive. Even during his first term, though, at that time, we didn't have a chance to meet, and especially when he was deprived from being elected by the electoral fraud of deep state representatives. They stole his victory. And what he is saying about putting an end to mail in ballot is absolutely right thing to do. Because American administrations always like to lecture the whole world how to live, how to build democracy, we all know that, how to address elections, but they themselves made the biggest election fraud against President Trump, depriving him from victory. During that time, when he was not a president, he behaved in a very decent manner. He demonstrated great courage and dignity and to come back in America, with all these frogs in the swamp, you know, like USAID, Radio Liberty, fake news, like Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, all of them were against him. All of them were demonizing him, the same way how they demonized me, for instance, not maybe the same level, but the same way, spreading rumors.
Journalist: That happened during the Biden…
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes…
Journalist: They insisted on keeping the section 907…
President Ilham Aliyev: Biden reimposed Section 907. Section 907 had been lifted in 2001. Why? Because they needed us in Afghanistan. They needed our sky, they needed our sea, and they needed the railroad. We provided very important support to American logistics and transportation. So as soon as Biden ran away from Afghanistan, they reimposed sanctions on us. So can you be so unthankful? What would we think about you? We cut off all relations with them. With the Biden administration, it was zero. It was a disaster. So Trump is absolutely different. He is a person who, I am sure, will not only make America great again, but will also make America admired again, as we all did in earlier times, when America was a symbol of prosperity, freedom, and development. He will do it. I'm sure if he manages, in six months, to bring peace to so many locations, he will do it. But he has strong resistance; the system is against him. And also, what I'd like to underline, especially what touched me, was how he behaved during that assassination attempt. That cannot be played —no speechwriter, no political advisor can do this. That's how a person reacts. He's a brave man and a great leader, and I am really proud that he treats me as a friend.
Journalist: Mr. President, let me conclude with my final question. Azerbaijan plays an important role among the Turkic-speaking states. How do you see this role? How do you envision Azerbaijan’s role in its region and neighbourhood in the future?
President Ilham Aliyev: The Organization of Turkic States has great potential. Azerbaijan was always straightforward in strengthening this institution. It started as a kind of group of countries, as a consultative group, as a council, but then it transformed. It has a great potential.
Our close relations with Türkiye are now based on Alliance Declaration, which we signed with President Erdogan in Shusha in 2021, which makes us military allies and political allies. From legal point of view, it's important factor, not only for both countries, but for the whole Turkish world. Last year, we signed the alliance agreement with Uzbekistan and also with other members of Organization of Turkic States. We have strategic partnership agreements or declaration. It's a big potential.
We are united by our roots, which makes this organization unique. Because if you look at other international organizations, not all — or perhaps only some — are united by a common ethnic group. Yeah, we are different peoples, but we have all common… our roots, coming from the Turkic ethnicity, we have growing population, which is also important factor for every country. When it is supported by economic development, it is advantage. Sometimes it's disadvantaged, when countries are poor, but our countries are not poor. We have natural resources, not in every country, but in many.
We have broad geography. Türkiye is leading military force on the global scale. In NATO, its second army after United States. Azerbaijani army also demonstrated itself on the battlefield, not on parades.
So and connectivity. When we talk about today, about corridors, you cannot avoid us. You cannot; you should use us, our territories, our facilities. Also important is that in all members of organization, there is a political stability, and friendly relations between each other and between all so this really makes organization unique. So we need to strengthen it, and we need to strengthen it by concrete projects, by investments, by energy, by transportation, by cultural projects. So I see in the future this organization as one of the important global actors. So, our view is to transform it into a global actor which can play a role on international arena, which not only be preoccupied with our internal issues, but to play a stabilizing role on international arena, positive role, generating opportunities for the neighbors, and demonstrating that on such a huge geographic geography, you can build a strong unity, which is not a threat to anyone, but which is an opportunity to many.
Journalist: We are pleased to see you again. Mr. President, thank you for giving us your time. Thank you for receiving us here in Baku. So, let me note the final point. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you. We were very pleased to have you on Al Arabiya channel. Mr. President, thank you very much. Dear viewers, with this, our special interview comes to an end. We had the honor of interviewing the President of Azerbaijan in the capital city of Baku.
