AZE.US
Political analyst Eldar Namazov has said that Russia is being forced to accept a new reality in its relations with Azerbaijan, one in which Baku pursues an independent foreign and security policy without relying on Moscow.
Speaking on the ITON-TV YouTube channel, Namazov said Azerbaijan had achieved full political, military and economic independence from Russia and had taken the necessary steps to protect its sovereignty.
He was commenting on remarks made by President Ilham Aliyev during the Shusha Global Media Forum, where the Azerbaijani leader described current relations with Russia as normal.
According to Namazov, that description should be understood in the context of Azerbaijan’s independence from Moscow.
“I understand the president’s answer this way: we are completely independent from Russia, and Russia is forced to reckon with this. For us, this is normal,” he said.
Namazov argued that Azerbaijan no longer depends on Russia in the security sphere, pointing to its military alliance with Turkey and the Shusha Declaration, which includes commitments to mutual support.
He also said there was no major economic dependence on Russia, noting that Moscow was no longer among Azerbaijan’s three largest foreign trade partners.
The analyst linked the current relationship to Azerbaijan’s historical experience under the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. He recalled that Aliyev had described the incorporation of Azerbaijan into the Russian Empire as colonization and had criticized the extraction of the country’s resources during the imperial and Soviet periods.
Namazov said Azerbaijan had spent the years following the restoration of independence strengthening its state institutions, armed forces and foreign policy autonomy.
At the same time, he pointed to continuing tensions between Baku and Moscow, including attacks on facilities linked to Azerbaijani businesses in Ukraine and the detention of members of the Azerbaijani community in Russia.
“When our president says that relations are normal, I understand it to mean that Azerbaijan has fully chosen an independent path of development,” Namazov said. “Russia is forced to accept this, whether it likes it or not.”
He added that the key question was whether Moscow could fully adjust to a relationship in which Azerbaijan acts as a sovereign regional power rather than as a country within Russia’s sphere of influence.
“We will see whether Russia can accept this new reality, this new normal. It has to accept it,” Namazov said.
The political analyst also referred to threats voiced in parts of the Russian media and political space about a possible military operation against Azerbaijan after the end of the war in Ukraine.
According to Namazov, Baku does not view such statements with panic and has already taken the necessary measures to safeguard the country’s independence and security.
He also praised the Shusha Global Media Forum, saying the event had grown into an important international platform. This year, it brought together about 300 participants from 60 countries.
Namazov said Aliyev’s extended question-and-answer session with foreign journalists allowed Azerbaijan to present its position directly on relations with Russia, the peace process with Armenia, the war in Ukraine and broader regional developments.
Holding the forum in Shusha, he added, also gave foreign participants an opportunity to see the scale of reconstruction in territories restored to Azerbaijani control after the Second Karabakh War.
AZE.US