As observers point out, Aliyev is the first head of state from outside the region to attend the summit.
No surprise there. Azerbaijan’s relations with Central Asian countries are developing rapidly and dynamically. The series of visits of both Ilham Aliyev to Central Asian countries and leaders of Central Asian states to Azerbaijan speaks for itself. Moreover, it was to Azerbaijan that President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid his first state visit after being re-elected.
As a matter of fact, Ilham Aliyev’s participation in the meeting of Central Asian leaders was supposed to happen back in July 2022, when the summit was held in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan. But that was when President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov made a sensational statement. He voiced the Azerbaijani side’s request to participate in future meetings as a guest of honor, but immediately added that preliminary consultations and probing showed that there was no consensus yet. Translation: one of the participants was against it. Who exactly, Zhaparov did not specify, merely stating: “Therefore, if there is no objection, I propose to instruct the foreign ministers to address the issue and report back via diplomatic channels.”
The speculation at the time was that the one who opposed was the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon. Tajikistan is the only non-Turkic-speaking country in the region. It was at that time that Tajikistan’s territorial conflict with Kyrgyzstan escalated, and Bishkek was just beginning to actively develop its ties with Baku.
Before the meeting in Cholpon Ata, Dushanbe hosted Vladimir Putin. And before that, Tajikistan had received substantial military aid from Russia, officially to deal with possible instability in Afghanistan, but unofficially against Kyrgyzstan. Moscow was not at all happy about Azerbaijan strengthening its position in Central Asia, as it clearly showed the aspirations of the region’s states to diversify their policies and abandon their exclusive focus on Moscow. Of course, it was not officially disclosed what was “advised” by whom and to whom. In July 2022, the war in Ukraine was already underway, and the “Kyiv in three days” campaign had already failed. But it seems that some of the local leaders believed that the Earth’s axis was running through the Spasskaya Tower and that Russia would sort out Ukraine any minute now, and then….
But the “then” never came. There is no counting on Russia’s help in security issues anymore: all its military resources are being devoured by the aggression against Ukraine. With the sanctions and the plummeting ruble, Russia’s exports are also losing their attractiveness. It makes no sense to expect investments from Russia. Communications through Russia to Europe are blocked as a result of the war. Even the “last bastion” of personal remittances from migrant workers is collapsing.
This means that the Central Asian countries have to look for an alternative, and that is exactly what Azerbaijan offers. Because of President Ilham Aliyev’s foresight and the reforms and “infrastructural revolution” implemented under his leadership, Azerbaijan has what the Central Asian countries need: communications bypassing Russia, which can be used to reach Türkiye and on to Europe, money for investments and wide-ranging foreign relations. Most importantly, our country is a clear and vivid example that a “Muslim republic of the former Soviet Union” can achieve real, not formal independence, diversify its economy and politics, and prioritize its own interests rather than serving the interests of others.
In short, it is not surprising that “the issue was successfully addressed via diplomatic channels”, “one of the participants” chose to withdraw his objections, and Ilham Aliyev arrived in Dushanbe to attend the meeting of Central Asian leaders as a guest of honor. Azerbaijani diplomacy has scored another victory on the Central Asian track.
Nurani
Translated from Minval.az
