President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan addresses a media conference in occupied Shushi on Jul. 13
Trump Understands the ‘Necessity of Zangezur Corridor,’ Aliyev Asserts
Citing what he called “punishment,” President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said on Monday that he was considering withdrawing his country from the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe.
Aliyev made the statement at the ironically titled Global Media Forum being held in occupied Shushi.
He claimed that after Azerbaijan forcibly “liberated” and then occupied Artsakh, PACE had taken certain steps, which he found to not be in the best interest of his country.
“In 2023, we exercised our legitimate right and liberated our territories that remained in the hands of separatists. However, they adopted resolutions to punish Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said, recalling that in January 2024, the accreditation of the Azerbaijani delegation in the PACE was questioned, after which the country was deprived of its voting rights at the assembly.
“This was simply a punishment against us, against our territorial integrity,” Aliyev reiterates. “The Azerbaijani delegation made a very wise decision. They refused to participate in the meetings. If we have no voting rights, why should we be there?”
Aliyev also asserted that since Azerbaijan had not voted for the justices presiding over the European Court of Human Rights, then any decision made by the international court would be rejected by Baku.
The Azerbaijani president went on to criticize the former European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, blaming him for the “complete collapse” of relations between Baku and the EU.
Aliyev went on to claim that an “Armenian oligarch,” whom he did not name, had paid the former Chief Justice of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo to make pro-Armenian statements. The Azerbaijani leader did not back up any of these statements with evidence.
“An Armenian oligarch supported him[Ocampo] on matters related to Armenia. This entire anti–Azerbaijan group existed within the European Commission. We hope that Borrell has left politics once and for all. Since then, our relations have begun to improve,” Aliyev said.
In discussing the role of the United States in peace talks with Armenia, Aliyev contended that the current U.S. administration recognized the importance of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” saying previous American administrations wanted to maintain the status quo, which he termed “the 30-year occupation” of his country by Armenia.
“They [U.S.] fully understood our concerns regarding peace. They also clearly understood the necessity of the Zangezur Corridor linking mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and worked very effectively to convince Armenia that this peace was also important for it,” Aliyev said.
He also praised President Donald Trump, calling him “a peace-loving politician who is able to contribute to the end of conflicts.”
Aliyev said Trump “has contributed to resolving eight conflicts. This is his character, his vision and his policy. In our case as well, his role became very important when negotiations on the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace agreement reached their final stage. President Trump and his team joined the process and created a framework that made peace possible.”
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