“Saudi Arabia’s principled stand, in alignment with international justice, United Nations Security Council resolutions, principles of international law, and Islamic solidarity, serves as a living example to the world,” the Assistant to the Presidential Administration noted.
“Our nations support each other within the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other international institutions. We hold in high regard Saudi Arabia’s role in fostering Azerbaijan's ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council states and the League of Arab States. We wish Saudi Arabia success in hosting Expo 2030 and said he highly values the Kingdom’s efforts in maintaining peace and security in the region and the world,” Hajiyev mentioned. “Azerbaijan unequivocally condemns missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, viewing them as unacceptable acts,” he emphasized.
As for bilateral relations, the Assistant to the Azerbaijani President said: “The bilateral relations are evolving day by day. Tourism is one of the crucial sectors for us, with the number of direct flights between Azerbaijan and the Kingdom on the rise. In 2022, around 100,000 Saudi nationals visited Azerbaijan. We anticipate further progress, as a matter of fact, we aspire to advance our relations with Saudi Arabia in economic and trade sectors, increase investments, and collaborate in areas such as agriculture and food security. Azerbaijan expects Saudi companies to actively participate in the reconstruction process of the liberated lands in Azerbaijan.”
“Azerbaijan has historical relations with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, especially Saudi Arabia. We believe that establishing institutional cooperation between Gulf states and Azerbaijan is of paramount importance. We can engage in a security dialogue between the Gulf states and Azerbaijan to address regional and international security matters. Furthermore, we require further collaboration in the realm of economic and trade relations, as well as expanding humanitarian cooperation,” Hajiyev underscored.
Responding to questions on the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the peace negotiations, the Assistant to Azerbaijani President noted that Azerbaijan ensured the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions itself, putting an end to the 30-years occupation and claiming a brilliant victory in the 44-day Patriotic War under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev. He said that shortly after the war, Azerbaijan presented five basic principles for the peace agreement to Armenia based on the mutual recognition of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, contrary to its obligations, Armenia has not yet withdrawn its armed detachments from Azerbaijani territories, using the Lachin road for military purposes. Moreover, 8 Azerbaijani villages are still remaining under Armenian occupation. Armenia still making territorial claims to Azerbaijan under different pretexts. By making absurd claims, official Yerevan hinders the negotiations on peace agreement.
In his interview, Assistant to the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev also touched upon the issue of restoring the rights of the Western Azerbaijan community. “The Western Azerbaijan Community has the right to return to its homeland in Armenia, as they were expelled from Armenia in the late 1980’s. Looking at the demographic situation in Armenia of that time, you can see that Muslims, especially Azerbaijanis, settled in a wide geographical area and were a local community there. However, the present-day Armenia represents a mono-ethnic society. That is why the Western Azerbaijan Community has the right to return to its homeland. Unfortunately, Armenia completely violates the rights of this community,” Hajiyev said.
Speaking about Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran, Hikmat Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan maintains relations with its neighbors based on principles of mutual respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs. “Azerbaijan and Iran share a historical neighborhood, but the recent attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran and the killing of an embassy member have led to tension and misunderstanding in our relations. Diplomatic channels are currently engaged, and relevant Iranian officials are also visiting Azerbaijan. Dialogue continues at the foreign ministerial level to mitigate these tensions and misunderstandings. Azerbaijan expects that the terrorist who attacked the country’s embassy in Iran and the forces standing behind him to be brought to justice in accordance with Iranian law. Azerbaijan always supports dialogue and diplomacy,” Hajiyev added.
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