Azerbaijan is drifting further and further away from the West.
As though any further indication of this was needed, President Ilham Aliyev made it painfully clear in his inaugural address on February 14.
He had won election to a fifth term a week earlier with 92 percent of the vote.
Shortly before the poll, Aliyev had already threatened that his country would leave top European bodies, namely the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. This was shortly after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted to kick out the Azerbaijani delegation.
"Sometimes we hear that some countries or a group of countries want to take over the functions of the international community and try to speak on behalf of it. When they have nothing to say, they say that the international community will not perceive this issue well," Aliyev said in his lengthy inaugural address, without naming any country or institution.
"First, it is a matter of modesty. Any limited number of 20-30 countries cannot speak on behalf of the international community, not to mention one country. The international community is on our side, the international community supported us during the Second Karabakh War [in 2020] and the anti-terror operation [seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh of September 2023]. I think the international reputation of Azerbaijan is not a secret to anyone today."
However, he went on to name several organizations, of which Azerbaijan is a member, that his country will continue to support and be part of, making it clear that earlier he was only addressing Western institutions and countries. Aliyev also made clear what international bodies he did like.
"Should we bow to those who do not want to accept us somewhere? Absolutely not! Our family is the Turkic world. We feel perfectly fine there. We have brotherly relations with all countries that are members of the Organization of Turkic States, and our policy is to solidify the Organization of Turkic States," he continued. "It is a vast geography, an extensive territory, a large military prowess, a substantial economy, natural resources, transportation routes, a young and growing population, and peoples from the same roots. Can there be a stronger union than this? Of course not! We must make a joint effort so that the Organization of Turkic States becomes an important actor and power center in the global arena. We can only achieve this together."
He added the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement as unions that his country will be loyal to, for they "always stood with Azerbaijan during and after the Second Karabakh War."
"If it is necessary to help solve the problems facing member countries, of course, we will do that," he promised.
At the same time, pro-government media have been ramping up their anti-West coverage. Prominent news agency Report.az ran separate editorials this week criticizing France and the U.S.
Azerbaijan's relations with the West have not always been smooth, especially ever since the 2020 war, as Baku accused several Western countries of pro-Armenian bias. The exception was the country's commitment to the EU-led mediation efforts between itself and Armenia in negotiating a peace treaty. But even on that front, Aliyev presented an ultimatum in his inaugural address.
"The process of normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations should be dropped from the international agenda. Because apparently every other party wants to deal with this issue. Mind your own business! This is why I don't want to spend a lot of time on this topic because it's not worth it. We have resolved our problem," he said. Elsewhere in his speech he warned Armenia to modify its constitution; otherwise, there will be no peace treaty.
Azerbaijan has also been increasingly critical of the EU mission deployed to the border with Armenia. Before and after a recent deadly operation near the border, the government and its affiliated media criticized the mission.
On February 13, on the day the attack happened, the EU High Representative Josep Borrell told a briefing, which he held together with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, that Azerbaijan is to blame for its "disproportionate response" as it went to kill four Armenian soldiers.
Azerbaijan's foreign ministry clapped back, calling the operation "totally adequate and of a local character."
"Moreover, we must reiterate that the proposal of the High Representative of the European Union for the distancing of forces, which has no practical significance, is regretful," the statement read in English. "The EU should take into account the fact that the mercenaries deployed by Armenia in border regions under the 'patronage of the European Union Mission' jeopardize the lives of Azerbaijani servicemen and civilians."