South Caucasus - from era of war to era of peace

"Today, the South Caucasus is also entering a new stage of development. We have been living in peace for only five or six months; we are learning this. In our entire independent history, we have never lived in peace. And it's a special feeling. And, of course, this is a great opportunity," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Euronews TV channel in Davos.

But it is true that Azerbaijan has not lived in peace for almost a single day since gaining independence. Peaceful life for the republic ended back in 1988, when the neighbors claimed Azerbaijani lands, and a stream of refugees poured into Azerbaijan from Armenia. It was the end of a peaceful life and the end of the Azerbaijani people's faith in justice. With the restoration of independence, the most difficult period in the country's recent history began. Sovereign Azerbaijan had many opportunities to quickly get back on its feet after the collapse of the empire, but it was not allowed to do so. The riches of this land haunted many who hoped, following the pattern of previous centuries, to dispose of them in their own way.

Azerbaijan's restored independence will mark its 35th anniversary in 2026. And only for half a year of them our people live in peace. The head of state said in an interview that this is a special feeling. And it really is. Many people don't think about it today, because after the Patriotic War of 2020, we gradually got used to the idea that the Karabakh conflict, in which two generations grew up, no longer exists. And now, after the President's words, it suddenly occurred to me: but that's how it is. We didn't know the world. And when you think about it, you realize how lucky we are to witness the change of epochs. It may sound pretentious, but we have really witnessed the change from the era of war to the era of peace.

This feeling is especially clear among the older generation, who managed to find the times before 1988 and survived the moral and ideological catastrophe, when the entire system of values and ideas about what is good and what is bad collapsed with the outbreak of the conflict. Then there was the "Black January", the war, occupation, internal confrontation, crisis, devastation, tent camps. If there was no war, it does not mean that there was peace.

The final end of the conflict in September 2023 did not mean peace either. Although there was no more shooting at the borders, Yerevan's throwing and delaying decisive steps by the Armenian side made the situation uncertain, when the threat of destabilization constantly persists with external stability. This continued until the turning point occurred on August 8, 2025. 

President Ilham Aliyev is confident that "through the joint efforts of Armenia and Azerbaijan, including civil society, we will achieve not long-term, but eternal peace in the Caucasus. That's our goal."

Baku is doing everything in its power for this. After Armenia assumed certain obligations in Washington and, most importantly, such a power as the United States acted as a guarantor of their fulfillment, Azerbaijan took several extremely important and significant steps. As the head of state said, today the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are already developing into cooperation.

However, so far, cooperation has been formed mainly due to Azerbaijan's initiatives. But if you think about it, this is how it should be, because we are the strong side, we are the winners, we have opportunities that Armenia does not have, and Baku's policy is distinguished by nobility towards the former enemy.

Azerbaijan has allowed the transit of goods for Armenia through its territory. Armenia has already received Russian and Kazakh grain through this route. It is reported that there are plans to deliver Russian liquefied natural gas through Azerbaijan to Yerevan. In addition, Azerbaijan and Armenia have established direct cooperation. Armenia has become a buyer of Azerbaijani fuel, and the parties are currently discussing expanding the list of export-import positions.

Detractors see this process as a political calculation. Let's not argue. By and large, Azerbaijan has a fairly wide market for its energy resources. And the most profitable is the premium, as the President said in an interview, the European market.  This market is much more profitable than the Armenian one, and Azerbaijan occupies a good position there today. President Ilham Aliyev told Euronews that our country is the only one in the South Caucasus that has energy resources and is an exporter of them. Azerbaijan supplies natural gas to 16 countries, 10 of which are members of the European Union. Thus, the head of state noted, Azerbaijan ranks first in the world in terms of geographical coverage of pipeline gas supplies.

By the way, Azerbaijani gas started flowing to Austria and Germany a few days ago. With the EU's decision on Russian gas, countries such as Germany have found themselves in a difficult position. This country has abandoned nuclear energy, closing all nuclear power plants, and the development of green energy does not keep pace with the real energy needs of Germany, especially in the winter cold.

In 2025, Azerbaijan exported 25.2 billion cubic meters of gas, including 12.8 billion cubic meters to Europe. Almost half of it.

In such circumstances, the appearance of Armenia in the list of buyers of Azerbaijani fuel and potential buyers of our energy resources is least of all related to economic interests for Azerbaijan. But this is part of an even more important and fateful process for the region. And this is especially important in today's global realities, where cooperation is gradually giving way to confrontation, and the power of law is the right of force. The South Caucasus, where relations will be based on mutual understanding and cooperation, can really turn into an oasis of stability. In the current situation, as the President of Azerbaijan says, each country should base its strategy and policy, taking into account its own potential, establish good relations with as many countries as possible, first of all in its region, and secondly on a global scale. And this is exactly what Azerbaijan has managed to achieve, he stressed.

Azerbaijan knows how to make friends and knows how to make friends. And this is one of the reasons why Azerbaijani projects are always successful. Baku knows how to establish relations with its neighbors and with the neighbors of our neighbors. Azerbaijan's friendly countries are located along the route of the logistics corridors and pipelines initiated by Baku. And as projects develop, expand, and branch out, the number of friends grows.    

But the main thing, as the head of state said, is relations with the nearest neighbors. The South Caucasus is now a priority. With the transition from the era of war to the era of peace, opportunities have emerged for the consolidation of regional countries. A window of opportunity has opened, and Azerbaijan will try to ensure that it does not close.