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Qabil Ashirov

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Despite all the sabotage of Armenophile European countries such as France, Belgium, and so on, Azerbaijan determinedly moves forward in its path. It is crystal clear that the corrupt scheme of the Armenian lobby will not work this time. Especially after the Ukrainian crisis, the vulnerability of the old continent emerged and no force can hide it from now on. Following the war in Europe, the importance of Azerbaijan and the ingenuity of its foreign policy are increasing day by day. Currently, it is clear that Azerbaijan does not need Europe. On the contrary, Europe needs Azerbaijan.

First of all, surely, today Azerbaijan plays a great role in energy security for Europe and day by day its importance is increasing.

It is worth noting that Azerbaijan is one of the first countries among the former Soviet Republics that tried to cooperate in the energy sector. It is Azerbaijan that invited Western energy companies such as bp, McDermott, and so on as soon as it became an independent country. Thanks to this long-sighted strategy stability was established and the region developed rapidly. The GDP of the country skyrocketed by 175 times over 30 years which is considered a miracle.

Baku did not limit itself only to the oil agreement. The country endorsed different mega projects that turned the region into the center of international forces. Following the oil project, Azerbaijan launched a mega gas project. At first, many criticized the project and said that it would not succeed. However, thanks to the determined and far-sighted foreign policy Azerbaijan did not fail and soon started to export natural gas to Europe. In 2021, the volume of natural gas exported to Europe amounted to 8 billion cubic meters and it increased by 50 percent totalling 12 billion cubic meters in 2023. However, neither Azerbaijan nor Europe considers it enough. According to the memorandum signed by Azerbaijan and the EU, the volume will reach 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.

The oil and gas are not the only products that Azerbaijan is going to supply Europe with. In addition to fossil fuels, Baku is working on exporting green energy to the old continent as well. According to the research, Azerbaijan has 200 GW of green energy potential and the country will realize some of this potential, soon, to meet its energy demand and sell surpluses to Europe. Azerbaijan has been working on this project for more than ten years. Even Baku inked a memorandum on exporting green energy to Europe as well. According to the memorandum, Azerbaijan will export 4 GW of electricity generated from renewable sources through under the Black Sea by 2030. Besides, Azerbaijan also plans to export 1 GW of green electricity via Turkiye.

So, the vulnerability of Europe is not limited to only energy. The war also revealed that the trade routes of Europe were not secured as well. Following the war in Ukraine, there is an increased urgency to identify alternative, reliable, and efficient trade routes between Europe and Asia that do not pass through Russia. The EU wants to be a reliable and predictable partner in a rapidly changing world, where all countries of the continent started to talk about the Middle Corridor. Certainly, this could be considered Azerbaijan's other initiative. The diversification of trade routes has been on the table for quite some time.

There is only one priority for Azerbaijan, which is to completely eliminate the concept of conflict in the region and ensure permanent peace in the entire South Caucasus. It goes without saying that the party that will respond in this matter is Armenia. Time has spoken: it is already clear who is strong and right, and who is wrong. Azerbaijan left behind the mistakes made by Armenia for many years and every time reached out to Armenia for peace. Of course, Azerbaijan did what was right for it and demonstrated its strength once again.

Today, Azerbaijan is definitely not interested in foreign interventions and foolish statements of pro-Armenian politicians. Because Azerbaijan has literally become the sphere of interest of Western countries. Especially Europe needs Azerbaijan as much as air and water. This leaves the interests of the latter in the background. It means that sooner or later the pro-Armenians will get tired and follow the smarter thinkers, that is, they will be forced to accept the truth whether they want to or not.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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