Declaration signed by Aliev and Putin comes into conflict with Azerbaijan’s obligations to Turkey

The declaration of cooperation, signed by Ilham Aliev and Vladimir Putin, obliges Baku to respect the interests of Moscow and creates a risk of complicating the Azerbaijan’s relations with Turkey as a member of NATO, say political analysts. The Moscow declaration severely limits the Azerbaijan’s independence, state opposition politicians.

On February 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev signed the declaration on allied cooperation. Among other issues, the document also speaks of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, promoting the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The declaration sums up the relations between the two countries over the past 30 years, believes Rasim Musabekov, a member of the parliamentary commission on foreign policy. He points out that Nagorno-Karabakh is not mentioned in the declaration.

Other Azerbaijani analysts expressed their negative opinion about the declaration signed by Baku and Moscow. So, political analyst Shain Djafarli points out that the Shusha declaration is perceived as the Turkey’s obligation to protect the country from the Russian threat and after the signing of the declaration in Moscow, it is not clear who will defend themselves and from whom.

“What will happen when the interests of these two states clash? What will Baku do if Ankara wants to cooperate with us on some issue contradicting the Moscow’s interests and if Moscow wants to cooperate on issues in conflict to the Ankara’s interests?” said Shain Djafarli.

“According to the declaration, Russia and Azerbaijan should take the same or similar positions on topical international issues ... In fact, this means that Baku has pledged to take the Russia’s interests into account in its foreign policy,” added Shain Djafarli.

The document signed by Ilham Aliev and Vladimir Putin could harm the interests of Azerbaijan in the future, says Arif Gadjily, the leader of the “Musavat” opposition party.