By Agil Alesger
New realities have emerged in the South Caucasus, and the Doha Forum has turned into a platform where these realities are visually demonstrated in both political and diplomatic dimensions. The harsh rhetoric of the wartime period is gradually giving way to an agenda of peace, communication and geo‑economic cooperation. At the centre of this new phase stand Azerbaijan’s initiative, political will and diplomatic activism.The joint interview given for the first time in Doha to “Euronews” by Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, and Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, is a symbolic confirmation of this new reality. The fact that the sides, which for years addressed each other only through closed and harsh statements, now sit side by side before international media and speak about the peace process, shows that the South Caucasus is no longer presented as a battlefield, but as a region where a peace agenda is being built.During the conversation, both sides assessed the stages of the peace process that began in 2020 and its future directions. An important point they underlined is that the main dialogue channels of the Azerbaijan–Armenia negotiations were formed precisely after 2020. Within this framework, the participation and technical‑political support of the European Union played the role of a platform for the talks; however, the side that determined the essence of the process and gave real content to such fundamental issues as delimitation of borders, opening of communications, recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity was exactly Azerbaijan.In this context, one of the key points that deserves special mention is that the culmination of this negotiation marathon was the peace agreement initialled in Washington between President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with the mediation of US President Donald Trump. This fact actually demonstrates two important truths: first, Azerbaijan is not the side that escapes from the peace agenda, but the one that has carried it to the final stage; second, for Western capitals, the genuine partner of peace in the South Caucasus and the actor with whom sustainable relations can be built is precisely Baku. In other words, although various platforms have joined the process, the pillar of the new political architecture in the region is being shaped on the basis of Azerbaijan’s will.One of the significant lines in this overall picture is Turkey’s position. Throughout the entire process, Ankara has acted along the same strategic line as Azerbaijan and has been one of the main advocates of establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus. Turkey openly declares that it is ready to normalise relations with Armenia, that it supports the opening of communications and the transformation of the region into an integrated transport and energy hub. However, a fundamental condition is set here: Armenia must fully respect Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and turn Baku’s legitimate demands into concrete policy. In other words, for Ankara, the key point of the normalisation process is preserving full alignment with Azerbaijan and Armenia’s unconditional acceptance of this new regional reality.Hikmat Hajiyev’s active role at the Doha Forum is important not only in the context of dialogue with Armenia, but also in terms of the messages Azerbaijan is sending to the West and the global arena. Baku is clearly demonstrating that it is the architect of the new realities in the South Caucasus: it is the side that closed the military phase of the conflict through its own strength, defined the legal‑political contours of the post‑war period, and is now building a regional peace and integration agenda on that foundation. Presenting peace not as an externally imposed dictate, but as the sovereign will of the regional states themselves, is also an integral part of Baku’s strategic approach.In this setting, the role of the West is largely limited to providing a technical venue, mediation and moderation; even if geopolitical and normative frameworks are proposed, the main preconditions for turning them into practice – the balance of power on the ground, political will and the security architecture – have already been shaped on the basis of realities defined by Azerbaijan. The Hajiyev–Grigoryan tandem at the Doha Forum is in fact a demonstration of this reality to the international community: Azerbaijan appears as the key player that keeps the peace process under control, protects its own interests and leads the region into a new geo‑economic phase. The message to the West is also clear: for lasting stability in the South Caucasus, working with Baku is not a matter of choice, but a necessity.Thus, the Doha episode is neither a diplomatic show by the West nor merely a formal image. It is the visualisation on the international stage of the new balance of power that has emerged in the South Caucasus, of the political advantage gained by Azerbaijan and of Baku’s consolidation of the peace agenda in its own hands – as well as of the new political momentum being given to the region under close strategic coordination with Turkey. Against the background of these new realities, the question is no longer “Will there be peace or not?”, but rather “On what conditions and on what kind of regional architecture will we build peace?” And in answering this question, the decisive word clearly belongs to Azerbaijan.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Agil Alesger– Director of Azerbaijan “Yeni Çağ” Media Group Member of the Board of the Azerbaijan Press Council
