The 20 years of Ilham Aliyev's presidency have marked a period of development and strengthening for Azerbaijan, the Director General of the Caspian Institute of Strategic Studies (Russia), Igor Korotchenko said, AzVision.az reports citing Trend.

"During these years, Azerbaijan has emerged as a worldwide leader, influencing major events while growing its power, influence, military, and economic capabilities. Of doubt, the most significant event during Ilham Aliyev's 20-year presidency has been the restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and full sovereignty," he reminded.

"These are pivotal events not only in the national history of the Azerbaijani people but also in contemporary world history, as there are no other examples of such successful, effective, well-thought-out, and crucial decisions that led to this unprecedented result," the analyst explained.

He emphasized that President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, with his broad outlook, strategic goal-setting, and international relations authority, has become one of the leading global politicians of today.

"This is recognized by everyone. Even powerful countries, such as France and the US, attempted to exert pressure on Azerbaijan. Such attempts were thwarted, and Azerbaijan firmly and decisively strengthened its sovereignty. Today, it successfully develops as the leading country in the South Caucasus and, undoubtedly, as the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, embodying through its chairmanship the aspirations of this part of the world for a just, efficient world and international development. Therefore, from all perspectives, President Aliyev is a leading figure of our time, an outstanding politician, intellectual, and statesman," Korotchenko said.

He noted that the path to full restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity was rather difficult.

"It was important to combine parameters of economic development, political system improvement, and military construction to create conditions for the rearmament of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, acquire the most advanced military equipment on the world market, equip and outfit the army, develop its own competencies in military production, and finally, build a training system that would be most effective for the theater of military operations in the region," the analyst pointed out.

"Therefore, as the President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Ilham Aliyev managed to create such a model for the army and thus configure the defense capabilities of the state that, in the conditions of the imposed war in September 2020 in response to Armenia's large-scale armed provocation, he launched the 'Iron Fist' counteroffensive operation," Korotchenko emphasized.

He highlighted that in the history of modern military art, there were very few such outstanding operations because in just 44 days, the aggressor, who had been accumulating forces for 30 years, occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territories and creating what seemed like an insurmountable system of complex engineering structures, minefields, and the infamous "Oganyan Line," nevertheless suffered a defeat and was completely routed.

"The result is outstanding in terms of its impact on the course of subsequent historical processes and the change in the military-political situation in the South Caucasus region. Most importantly, this military success is unprecedented. Certainly, the surgically precise, effective decisions and operations implemented during the 44-day second Karabakh war continue to be the focus of military analysts' attention to this day, even though several years have passed since its end," he said.

Korotchenko also emphasized President Ilham Aliyev's understanding of the main trends in modern warfare.

"This is modern maneuver warfare, where the role of unmanned strike means increases manifold compared to conflicts of the previous period. Secondly, the importance and effectiveness of using special forces. In this regard, of course, in combination with an effective command and control system, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces much surpassed the opposing Armenian forces during the 44-day war," the analyst said. "They demonstrated an understanding of modern trends in military art, which ultimately, due to successes in military construction and the success of the operation, led to an unprecedented result in modern terms when the aggressor was defeated and the Azerbaijani Army achieved a decisive victory. Armenia was forced to surrender."

"The Azerbaijani Armed Forces once again demonstrated their competence during recent anti-terrorist measures when separatist groups and parts of the Armenian army in Karabakh, through effective and decisive actions, were forced to lay down their arms and admit defeat in less than a day," noted Korotchenko. "Therefore, in terms of modern military art, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev undoubtedly deserves the highest praise for his professionalism, not only as a politician but also as a military leader."

The analyst further noted that the international relations system and global politics are facing dramatic changes.

"It would seem that countries that once dominated, for example, France or the US, often lose today, and a reconfiguration of the entire international relations system is taking place; new alliances are forming," he mentioned. "However, once again, state stability and the leaders' ability to build relationships with neighbors, both close and distant, in a coordinate system where the state always moves forward and has, along with adversaries, a much larger number of allies, friends, and partners, are critically important."

"This is particularly characteristic of Azerbaijan in the most distinctive degree. Because, of course, Azerbaijan today is not only a key player in the South Caucasus region, in the Caspian, but also, in my opinion, one of the most influential countries in the international community," Korotchenko said. "We see today that the quality of a leader, his intellectual capabilities, and the effectiveness of the political system lead to many conclusions and the further direction of the situation. In this regard, Azerbaijani diplomacy certainly deserves the highest praise."

"Alongside the military factor, military strength, and superiority over the adversary, the significant achievements of Azerbaijani diplomacy are clearly visible at the large international forums held in Baku, given the role assigned to Azerbaijan today as the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement," the analyst noted.

"Indeed, in general, the authority of the Azerbaijani state today is extremely high. Azerbaijan is one of the leaders setting trends, and, of course, Azerbaijani diplomacy is, first and foremost, the personal diplomacy of President Ilham Aliyev. He's successful, and consequently, the Azerbaijani state and society, which are undoubtedly oriented only forward, are successful," Korotchenko concluded.

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