Azernews.Az

By Sabina Mammadli

As the Russian-Ukrainian conflict unfolds, Western hypocrisy toward conflicts in other parts of the world becomes more apparent.

Not only has there been universal condemnation of Russia in this conflict and support for Ukraine in their suffering from countries all over the world, but many reporters covering the conflict have made a point of emphasizing their horror at how this could happen to a "civilized" nation.

A quote from Charlie D'Agat, a CBS News senior correspondent in Kyiv, demonstrates the existing double standard in Western media toward non-European people suffering from conflict.

“This isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European – I have to choose those words carefully, too – the city where you wouldn’t expect that or hope that it’s going to happen,” he stated.

Double standards are not a new strategy used against our country either.

Since gaining independence, Azerbaijan has been targeted by the "civilized world's" dual policy. It is still a mystery how, during the period of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, open occupation of our lands, and ethnic cleansing carried out by Armenia, notorious Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, was adopted in the United States.

This hypocritical rhetoric has been used against Azerbaijan for the 30 years of the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict; however, it was explicitly palpable during the 44-day second Karabakh war in 2020.

The current situation in Ukraine brings back memories of our country's war and the West's double standards against it.

Today, the Ukrainian army actively employs Turkish Bayraktar drones, reviving the debate over double standards.

Bayraktars are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were designed specifically for use in combat. These aren't toy drones; these are combat vehicles designed to aid one army in its fight against another. Despite the fact that this function of Turkish drones is obvious, the outrage over the Azerbaijani army's use of Bayraktars against Armenian occupiers is still fresh in our minds.

During the second Karabakh war in 2020, the Azerbaijani army's use of Bayraktars was condemned as an inhuman weapon, a terrorist act, and nearly a means of "genocide".

And what do we see? Bayraktar is now referred to as a weapon of hope rather than a killer. The Turkish drone has already become a "weapon of hope", according to an article published in one of Germany's largest tabloid newspapers Bild. It should be noted that the same publication referred to Bayraktar as "Erdogan's killer drone" three years ago.

The Canadian newspaper Ottawa Citizen has also reported that the drone cameras Canada will provide to Ukraine for use against the Russian military are the same ones that the government previously prohibited from being exported to Turkey after they were used in combat.

According to the paper, some of the funds provided by the Canadian government for humanitarian aid in Ukraine will be used to purchase Wescam surveillance cameras for Ukraine's Bayraktar TB2 armed drones, which were previously sold to Azerbaijan as well.

The ban on exporting the sensors to Turkey was imposed after the Canadian government determined that Azerbaijan used Bayraktar drones during the second Karabakh war.

“This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey,” stated the publication.

In this regard, another hypocritical parallel is the issue of mercenaries. Remember how much our army was condemned and attacked during the 44-day war because of non-existent "terrorists" in their ranks. Threats and warnings were issued by Armenian, Russian, and Western media outlets.

Foreign mercenaries are now fighting on both sides of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, with neither the West nor the East condemning them. The silence from Paris and Moscow, which were so vocal in their warnings to Baku during the 44-day war, is now unmistakable.

The most recent manifestation of Western double standards was the European Parliament's resolution on the alleged destruction of "Armenian heritage" in liberated territories, which violates international law.

These double standards in response to one group's aggression are precisely what characterizes many other bloody conflicts in the post-Soviet space. By setting a good example and condemning Armenian war crimes and ethnic cleansing, further conflicts in neighboring countries could have been avoided.

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