President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan slammed the European Union and its leader for what he called the bloc’s efforts to meddle in regional matters and accused the EU of “colonialism” as it relates to its posturing toward Georgia.
He said that relations between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia are none of the EU’s business.
Aliyev, during a forum in Baku on Thursday, said that he was surprised when he learned about the comments made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who had spoken about opening the borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as Armenia and Turkey, to facilitate the development of the Middle Corridor.
During an EU-Central Asia summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan last week, von der Leyen said the opening of Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan will bring Europe and Central Asia closer together and become a “game changer” for the EU.
“After three decades of closure, the opening of the borders of Armenia with Turkey and Azerbaijan is going to be a game changer and it will bring Europe and Central Asia closer together like never before,” she emphasized.
“In an increasingly fragmented world, the Transcaspian Transport Corridor will boost connections between your five countries and Europe,” von der Leyen said. “But infrastructure is not everything. Smooth border crossing with Central Asian and South Caucasus countries is also essential to reach the Black Sea.”
“We only hear calls to open the border between Turkey and Armenia, between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Relations between Turkey and Armenia, between Azerbaijan and Armenia are not their business. The farther the European Union is from these issues, the better for everyone,” Aliyev said.
He also said that Armenia is has no role in the transit route referenced by von der Leyen in her remarks last week.
“It was very strange because this corridor already exists, and Armenia has no role in it,” Aliyev stressed.
A day before Aliyev threatened “new military confrontation” with Armenia, if Yerevan continues to refuse to amend its Constitution, which the Azerbaijani leader claims contains territorial demands from his country.
“Until a peace treaty is signed and Armenia completely renounces all territorial claims against Azerbaijan, which are still present in its constitution, and demonstrates sincerity in its behavior towards normalizing relations with Azerbaijan, the risk of a new military confrontation will always persist,” Aliyev said during an address at an international conference in Baku.
On Thursday, Aliyev also discussed the EU’s posturing toward Georgia, which in a recent change of government aligned itself with Russia, prompting the EU to cut its assistance to Tbilisi.
“The attitude of the European Commission toward Georgia’s internal processes is completely unacceptable. This is colonialist behavior,” Aliyev declared.
“They are trying to view the will of the Georgian people through the prism of their colonialist past. This is completely unacceptable. The Georgian people know we are with them, and the government of Georgia knows. Georgia’s internal affairs should be decided by the Georgian people, not bureaucrats from Brussels,” Aliyev added.
