Diplomacy Journal David Kendall 기자 |
The outgoing year marks in Azerbaijan the 30th anniversary of our Constitution and the 5th anniversary of the Victory in the Patriotic War of 2020, which led to the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and full sovereignty. In recognition of these historic milestones, President Ilham Aliyev proclaimed 2025 as the “Year of Constitution and Sovereignty”.
For centuries, the greatest dream of the Azerbaijani people has been to own an independent and sovereign state and to build a developed society based on national and moral values, solidarity, humanism, justice, and the rule of law. Despite repeated external interference, Azerbaijani people preserved their national identity and spirit, remained faithful to their ideals, and ultimately restored state independence at the end of the 20th century.
Although the Constitutional Act “On the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” adopted on October 18, 1991, envisaged the preparation of a new Constitution, ineffective governance between 1991 and 1993 led to a severe crisis in all spheres of public life and to widespread anarchy. State institutions could not function properly, and the rule of law and human rights could not be ensured.
Only the return to power of National Leader Heydar Aliyev in 1993, at the request of the people, saved Azerbaijan from collapse. Under his leadership, the dangerous processes threatening the country were halted, political stability was restored, and a solid foundation for modern state-building was established. Under his direct guidance, the first Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan was prepared, and adopted on November 12, 1995. This Constitution laid the groundwork for comprehensive legislative and institutional reforms and served as a vital legal basis for safeguarding independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, building a legal and secular state, ensuring a decent standard of living for citizens, and fostering cooperation with the international community in an atmosphere of friendship and peace.
However, the occupation of nearly 20% of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories for almost 30 years as a result of Armenia’s military aggression prevented the full application of Azerbaijan’s Constitution and sovereign rights in those regions. In 1991, Armenia launched a full-scale war against Azerbaijan based on illegal territorial claims and occupied these territories until 1994, ignoring relevant UN Security Council resolutions and violating fundamental norms and principles of international law.
Ending Armenia’s aggression and restoring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty became a central goal of the Azerbaijani national idea, and all national resources were mobilized to achieve this historic mission.
As a result of the Patriotic War that began on September 27, 2020, in response to Armenia’s provocations, and the successful anti-terror measures carried out on September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty were fully restored. Consequently, the Constitution of Azerbaijan regained full legal force across all liberated territories. In accordance with the Presidential Decree dated September 19, 2024, September 20 was declared the Day of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Having restored its territorial integrity and full sovereignty, Azerbaijan has become more self-confident and increasingly engaged in international affairs. You witnessed Azerbaijan’s highly professional hosting of COP29 last year, and this year we successfully continued our chairmanship. Today, Azerbaijan is more actively contributing to addressing global challenges and promoting international cooperation.
Perhaps the most significant foreign policy achievement of the outgoing year has been the progress in the peace process in our region, particularly the normalization of relations with Armenia. As President Ilham Aliyev stated at the latest session of the UN General Assembly: “We won, both in war and in peace.”
Immediately after our victory, Azerbaijan declared its readiness to open a new chapter in relations with Armenia based on mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Azerbaijan proposed five fundamental principles and drafted a peace treaty, which formed the basis of negotiations conducted from October 2022 until the summer of 2025. These negotiations yielded positive results, and the draft peace treaty was fully agreed upon.
During President Ilham Aliyev’s historic visit to Washington on August 8 this year, the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia initialed the peace agreement at the White House in the presence of the political leaders of the United States, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. On the same day, a Joint Declaration was signed by the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia, with the President of the United States acting as a witness.
Azerbaijan and Armenia also jointly appealed for the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group and its related structures, which were established in 1992 to broker the conflict resolution but failed to deliver tangible results. Accordingly, on September 1, the OSCE decided to permanently close these structures, and this decision was implemented on December 1. This means that the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, along with all mechanisms created to resolve it, has now become history. Today, there is a real opportunity to transform the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia into lasting and sustainable peace, and Azerbaijan remains firmly committed to this goal.
