Vasif Huseynov

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Opinion

Opinion: Baku Trials Expose Armenia’s Role in the Karabakh Conflict

6 March 2025

The trials of former Armenian separatist leaders in Baku mark a long-overdue moment of accountability for decades of aggression, occupation, and destruction in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. The proceedings in the Baku Military Court are more than a legal exercise – they are a public affirmation of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over its internationally recognized territory, a sovereignty that Armenia sought to undermine for over 30 years through both overt and covert support for the separatist regime. Courtroom testimonies of the former separatist leaders have reinforced what Azerbaijan has long maintained: Armenia was not a bystander but the architect of the separatist military apparatus that inflicted immense suffering on Azerbaijanis.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: The World Must Know More about the Khojaly Genocide

20 February 2025

The occupation and ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts in the early 1990s by the armed forces of Armenia involved immeasurable atrocities and extreme violence. Realizing that more than 700,000 people in the region would not easily flee their homes, Armenian leaders resorted to force. The ethnic cleansing carried out by the Armenian armed forces resulted in numerous humanitarian tragedies over the years, but the most devastating was the massacre of civilians in Khojaly, a town in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region, in the bitterly cold morning of February 26, 1992.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: Disordered Interregnum: Threats to the South Caucasus?

6 February 2025

The policy decisions made by the new President of the United States, Donald Trump, have triggered tectonic shifts in the international political order. The post-World War II, U.S.-led system is unraveling before our eyes, and paradoxically, this process has been accelerated by the United States itself. The new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, described the post-Cold War order, characterized by unipolarity, as an “anomaly” and stated, “It was a product of the end of the Cold War, but eventually, you were going to reach back to a point where you had a multipolar world, with multiple great powers in different parts of the planet.” The United States appears to have abandoned its post-World War II role as the leader of the free world, established through Pax Americana and its commitment to providing security for allies in Europe, East Asia, and beyond.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: Breaking the Present Deadlock in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process Will Remain a Formidable Task in 2025

17 December 2024

On 10 December, the Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), a Baku-based political think tank closely affiliated with the Azerbaijani government, held a high-level international conference titled “The Main Obstacle to a Peace Agreement Between Azerbaijan and Armenia.” The conference identified the territorial claims in Armenia’s constitution against Azerbaijan as the primary obstacle to peace.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: Is Trump’s Re-Election Good News for Azerbaijan-U.S. relations?

10 December 2024

On 5 December, the Azerbaijani Press Agency (APA) in reference to “diplomatic sources” reported that Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister rejected a United States-initiated meeting with his Armenian counterpart on the sidelines of the 31st meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers in Malta. According to the agency, the reason behind Azerbaijan’s refusal was related to the “insistence” of the United States’ Secretary Antony Blinken to mediate between the two South Caucasian ministers. Citing the overall “unjust and biased policy” of the Biden administration towards Azerbaijan, the diplomatic source of the agency stated that “for this reason, Azerbaijan does not want the U.S. to participate in the peace agenda at all and does not consider it appropriate”.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: An incomplete treaty between Baku and Yerevan will not bring peace

28 November 2024

Over the past two years, numerous unofficial deadlines have been set for signing the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty. Until the end of last year, the people of both countries held their breath in anticipation of a breakthrough, encouraged by officials on both sides who deemed an agreement possible. Later, there was significant optimism that the two former adversaries might reach a deal during the United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) which was held on November 11-24 in Baku.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: COP29 host Azerbaijan faces unfair accusations

26 November 2024

“As the host country of COP29, we have become the target of a coordinated, well-orchestrated campaign of slander and blackmail”, said President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan during his inauguration speech at the climate conference on November 12. This conference was the largest international event ever organized in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus. Bringing together 80 presidents, vice-presidents, and prime ministers, the conference had 72,000 registered participants from 196 countries. Azerbaijan has concentrated all its efforts over the past year since it received the mandate of hosting this event to make it as well-organized and successful as possible. In parallel, the country has had to deal with the information attacks from multiple sources over the past year.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: Third meeting of 3+3 and reconfiguration of the South Caucasus geopolitics

23 October 2024

On 18 October, the 3+3 regional cooperation platform which hypothetically includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia “plus” three surrounding powers (Türkiye, Iran, and Russia) convened the third meeting at the ministerial level, though again without the participation of Georgia. Hosted by Türkiye in Istanbul, the meeting took place amidst a sensitive security situation in the wider region due to the ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine war, the potential Iran-Israel war, the upcoming fateful parliamentary elections in Georgia, and certainly, the persisting challenges in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: Middle Corridor gains momentum while Zangezur Corridor remains stalled

4 October 2024

In September, it was announced that China has joined Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia as a partner in the Middle Corridor Initiative, with the China Railway Container Transport Corporation (CRTC) participating in the project. The decision followed extended talks over several months and was confirmed during the 8th International Silk Road Expo, held in Xi’an from September 19-20, 2024. This announcement comes amid the growing significance of the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), as a crucial trade link between China and Europe, passing through several Central Asian and South Caucasian countries. The Middle Corridor Multimodal joint venture, established in 2023, offers a “one-stop-shop” service for cargo delivery along this route, aiming to enhance transport coordination, provide transparent tariffs, and ensure consistent delivery times.

Vasif Huseynov

Filter archive

Opinion: Baku Trials Expose Armenia’s Role in the Karabakh Conflict

Opinion: The World Must Know More about the Khojaly Genocide

Opinion: Disordered Interregnum: Threats to the South Caucasus?

Opinion: Breaking the Present Deadlock in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process Will Remain a Formidable Task in 2025

Opinion: Is Trump’s Re-Election Good News for Azerbaijan-U.S. relations?

Opinion: An incomplete treaty between Baku and Yerevan will not bring peace

Opinion: COP29 host Azerbaijan faces unfair accusations

Opinion: Third meeting of 3+3 and reconfiguration of the South Caucasus geopolitics

Opinion: Middle Corridor gains momentum while Zangezur Corridor remains stalled