Azerbaijan has gone through chaos that is hard to believe today

Throughout October, there is a daily appeal to the memory of the events of the Second Karabakh War. Every day is another anniversary of the liberation of a particular settlement, progress in one direction or another. On October 3, we celebrated the liberation of Sugowushan, and on October 4, we raised the flag over liberated Jabrayil. Each of the 44 days of the war is one new step towards Victory.

Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia after thirty years of devastating conflict and occupation still remains a source of shock for many who believed they were in control and held all the strings. No one expected that the conflict, which everyone had grown accustomed to and considered insoluble, would come to an end without the permission or involvement of the decision?makers. Armenia and its guardians gradually accustomed the world to the idea that what had happened was irreversible, and the existing status quo was seen as something unshakable and inviolable.

But it happened. The Second Karabakh War showed that a small country can achieve far more than its size would suggest. A small country can dramatically change the rules, create new realities, while still preserving the face of international law. Armenia was assisted in occupying Azerbaijani lands by powers — some with words, others with actions. Azerbaijan, however, liberated its own lands alone. The myths created around the 44?day war by those who cannot forgive us for this victory have crumbled, but the reality remains. In this reality, Azerbaijan not only liberated its lands and put an end to the occupation that had lasted 26 years (this is not counting the ethnic cleansing that began in Armenia in 1987), but also extended a hand of peace to the adversary who had been burning, killing, and destroying all these years.

Why? This question was best answered by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in his speech at the congress of the ruling party last Friday. 

"Because we don't need an endless war; that wasn't our choice. In the Second Karabakh War, we stopped at the right moment, and in September 2023, we also stopped at the right moment. Although there were various options. However, it is foresight, strategic thinking, and taking into account the key interests of our people that dictate such a policy," the head of state said.

And he added a phrase that only lazy people don't quote today. He said, "There is no place for emotions in politics. If we had succumbed to emotions, then today, probably, the third Victory Arch would have been erected in the center of Irevan."

In this regard, I recall a very revealing story that was once revealed by the special envoy of the President of the United States, Stephen Witkoff. He spoke about some details of the meeting in Washington on August 8, 2025. In a conversation between Donald Trump and President Ilham Aliyev in the Oval Office, in the presence of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Trump asked why Azerbaijan stopped in November 2020, despite having a superior army and having driven the Armenians into flight. To which the Azerbaijani leader replied: “Because I only wanted to return what they had taken. I don’t need anything more.”

Trump’s special envoy commented on the Azerbaijani leader’s response with undisguised admiration and called Baku’s actions an example of statesmanship.

Statesmanship is what makes the policy of official Baku inimitable. After the 44-day war, Azerbaijan found itself in a very difficult foreign policy situation. He was literally squeezed from all sides by the clutches of pro-Armenian propaganda. Having lost on the battlefield, the Armenians went on the offensive on the information and diplomatic fronts by the forces of the lobby, biased politicians and countries patronizing the Armenians. So Azerbaijan did not have to rest on its laurels. Moreover, the campaign launched against the country only served to convince us that we cannot stop, but must continue our work until the issue of separatism on Azerbaijani lands is finally resolved.

"As a result, in the period between the Second Karabakh War and the anti?terrorist operation, we operated on several fronts. Both on the political plane — by conducting a very serious international information campaign in international organizations so that the pro?Armenian countries opposing us would not be able to achieve their sordid intentions — and directly on the ground: we significantly improved our strategic positions in the Karabakh region, and several successful military operations were carried out. These operations were very short?term, as they should have been: the necessary steps were taken solely with the aim of shaping the events of September 20 and achieving the desired outcome with minimal losses. “The processes that took place along the conventional Azerbaijani?Armenian border, including those that occurred on the de facto border, effectively laid the foundation for Armenia’s full recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,” President Ilham Aliyev said while addressing the congress of the New Azerbaijan Party.

Azerbaijan has made it clear to its adversary that the defeat and capitulation following the Second Karabakh War are not the end of the matter, and that new unpleasant “surprises” await it. Armenia is a neighbor that understands only the language of force. Unfortunately, that is the case. Twenty?six years of negotiations have shown that it is pointless to appeal to international law, to seek reasonable arguments, or to try to reach an agreement. After the war, Yerevan tried for some time to reclaim at least something, to strengthen a foothold from which it would be possible to speak more boldly about revenge. Then came the September events of 2022, when, having attempted to break through the border in the Zangilan direction, the Armenian armed forces received such a strong response that a couple of weeks later, the Armenian side officially recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in Prague. The loss of a number of strategic positions undoubtedly forced our neighbors to visibly imagine that very Arch of Victory in the center of Yerevan, which President Ilham Aliyev spoke about.It has been three years since Armenian separatism no longer exists on the territories of Azerbaijan. But the country arrived at this point through many sufferings and losses. Through military aggression, occupation, international isolation, economic crisis, the threat of civil war, misunderstanding, indifference, and outright hostility from global circles. Escaping this tangle of critically serious problems was very difficult for a small state without a functioning government and without any external support. Some consider the survival of the state called Azerbaijan on the map to be a miracle, but in reality, there were no miracles. Heydar Aliyev’s return to the republic and the subsequent events had nothing to do with miracles. This was an extremely difficult job, as it involved clearing away the backlog of problems left by the previous incompetent government, which nearly destroyed the country.

Let us try to imagine what level the state’s foreign policy should have been at if, at the height of the Armenian aggression, the United States adopted the unjust 907th Amendment. The amendment was adopted in October 1992, when the NFA and Musavat were already in power. This tandem was so eager to please the West with its democratic stance that it successfully damaged relations with its immediate neighbors, thereby securing their support for the Armenian aggressors.

One fact should be recalled. The government of the NFA?Musavat was supported by Washington. The United States adopted an amendment against Azerbaijan, while at the same time, under the pretext of “democracy,” providing patronage to this motley crew. However, the American side did so condescendingly, with a certain degree of contempt. Such spineless populists, who had not the slightest idea about governing a state, diplomacy, or real politics in general, were best suited to promote foreign interests.

Meanwhile, chaos reigned in the country, against the backdrop of truly “democratic” processes: amid Armenia’s armed aggression, politicians were vying for power within Azerbaijan, and armed groups led by so?called field commanders were clashing with each other — commanders who led the forces under their control not towards the liberation of Shusha or Agdam, but towards Ganja and Baku. Armed units were withdrawn from the front, leaving cities and villages unprotected, so that they could be sent to defend someone’s petty or political interests. This situation was advantageous to both the West and the East.

Now it’s even impossible to imagine that all of this ever happened. Looking at today’s Azerbaijan, the events of those years seem like a terrible dream. But it’s not a dream — it’s part of our history. We must not forget what we have been through and that we gained the opportunity to be called an independent state and to celebrate Victory Day on November 8 because Heydar Aliyev returned to power in Azerbaijan in July 1993. The politician whom the people continued to remember returned and began to improve the situation.

As President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech, “...we had to break out of international isolation, express our position, and prove that we were right. How much time did it take! In the end, we achieved this.” International organizations began to adopt decisions and resolutions reflecting Azerbaijan’s position — that is, the real situation — one after another: the UN General Assembly, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the OSCE. And even the European Parliament, which is hostile towards us today, was forced to do so. In other words, this was a way out of international isolation.

Everything that was done was done with the aim of liberating the territories. This general goal has been achieved.