AZE.US
President Ilham Aliyev addressed the 8th European Political Community summit in Yerevan by video link on May 4, marking a rare political moment in the Armenia-Azerbaijan track: an Azerbaijani leader speaking at a major international event hosted in the Armenian capital.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan had supported Armenia’s bid to host the summit and, in turn, proposed that one of the next EPC meetings be held in Azerbaijan to preserve a balanced approach. That proposal, he said, was accepted, with the next summit in Azerbaijan scheduled for May 2028.
“This is a clear indication that peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia is real,” Aliyev said, adding that the two countries have been “living in peace for only nine months” and are still learning how to do so.
The Azerbaijani president referred to the joint declaration signed in Washington last August by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, with U.S. President Donald Trump also signing as a witness. He also noted that the foreign ministers of the two countries had initialed the text of a peace agreement.
Aliyev pointed to several practical steps taken after the peace breakthrough. He said Azerbaijan had unilaterally lifted all transit restrictions on Armenia that had been in place since the early 1990s. According to him, 28,000 tons of cargo have already been delivered to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory.
He also said Azerbaijan had, for the first time, begun supplying its own oil products to Armenia, including gasoline and diesel. So far, he said, 12,000 tons of Azerbaijani petroleum products have been exported to Armenia.
Transport links were another major part of Aliyev’s remarks. He said the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” would connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave and also become part of the Middle Corridor.
But the speech was not only about reconciliation. Aliyev sharply criticized the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, accusing them of double standards and of undermining the peace process instead of supporting it.
He said that from May 2021 to April 30, 2026, the European Parliament had adopted 14 resolutions on Azerbaijan, which Baku views as hostile and filled with false accusations. The most recent resolution, he noted, was adopted just days before the Yerevan summit.
Aliyev also reminded participants that Azerbaijan’s parliament voted on May 1 to suspend cooperation with the European Parliament in all areas, end participation in the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and begin procedures to suspend its membership in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also addressed the summit, saying that Armenia and Azerbaijan had achieved peace and that the past two years had been an unprecedented period without casualties on either side.
He underlined that this was the first time Azerbaijan’s president had taken part, even virtually, in an event held in Armenia.
European Council President António Costa called the summit historic, saying it became possible because of an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also opened his remarks with a message of support, wishing both countries “sustainable, comprehensive and lasting peace.”
Aliyev’s appearance at the Yerevan summit reflected Baku’s two-track message: Azerbaijan is ready to consolidate peace with Armenia through trade, transport and diplomatic platforms, but it will continue to confront European institutions it sees as politically biased against the country.
AZE.US