(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Elnur Enveroglu read more Today Azerbaijan is holding a Summit-Level Meeting of the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Contact Group on the fight against
COVID-19 with high-ranking officials from the forum of 120
countries in presence that are not formally aligned with or against
any major power bloc.
After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states
worldwide.
Hosting a summit-level meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in
Baku, and taking over the chairmanship of the second-largest group
for another year promises a myriad of opportunities for Azerbaijan
in its drive to turn the entire region into an island of
development and cooperation serving the interests of peoples.
Azerbaijan's chairmanship by the end of this year can be
conducive and pave the way for the solution of grand tasks
remaining incomplete so far for covert and overt intentions of
superstates with their own interests in the region. One of the
major and yet not completely resolved issues high on Azerbaijan's
agenda is bringing Karabakh under Baku's control and signing a
peace deal with Armenia.
“Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the NAM for four consecutive
years, especially at a time of the pandemic, and active role in
promoting the necessity for the fair distribution of vaccines among
world nations added more value to the country's reputation.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has great expectations from the forum in the
resolution of its ongoing conflict in the region,” Turab Rzayev,
said in a comment for Azernews on the NAM summit
in Baku on 2 March.
The political analyst also commented on Azerbaijan's active
involvement in the NAM and its benefits for Azerbaijan in
particular, when great powers voted against Azerbaijan in the II
Karabakh War.
“The Non-Aligned Movement has been crucial in matters of
security and stability related to Karabakh, and it is and will be
in the future. As for the significance of the NAM for Azerbaijan,
it is enough to look at the 44-day Patriotic War. At that time, the
great powers, including China, the USA, Britain, France, and Russia
backed a UN resolution against Azerbaijan. However, only as a
result of the efforts of NAM members, Azerbaijan prevented the
passage of this resolution,” the expert said.
Turab Rzayev also touched on Azerbaijan's cooperation with NUM
toward the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and
Armenia. However, the political analyst pointed out the capacity of
the forum in terms of its efficiency in the conflict solution.
“Of course, we will continue to support the steps taken by the
NAM on Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. However, we must consider
one thing, that is, in the absence of resolving power of the UN
resolutions, the messages given by the NAM in some way cannot be
said to have a direct effect. Of course, this will be rather
supportive for Azerbaijan.”
According to Farahila Babayeva, senior specialist at the
Caucasus politics department under ANAS Institute of Caucasus
Studies, Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement for
another year can be instrumental in bolstering regional and global
solidarity and maintaining peace.
Emphasizing Azerbaijan's priority for maintaining peace and
stability in the region, the expert added that the Non-Aligned
Movement will grant the opportunity for Azerbaijan to exert a
stronger influence on geopolitical processes on two fronts -
regional and global.
“Benefiting from the chance of leading NAM until next year,
Azerbaijan will have the opportunity to expand the area of activity
at the regional level in the direction of solving the ongoing
conflict in the region based on the principles of international
law,” she opined.
Further to comments from Turab Rzayev, the expert spoke about
the expectations of Azerbaijan, from the summit, especially in the
matter of full resolution of the Karabakh conflict without
delay.
“Certainly, Azerbaijan's expectation from this summit is to
achieve its goal through efforts to eliminate once and for all the
word 'conflict' in relation to Azerbaijan's Karabakh. Because for
Azerbaijan establishing peace and security in the South Caucasus is
fundamental. In order to realize all this as quickly as possible,
Azerbaijan and other member countries expect the Non-Aligned
Movement to take a special place in the UN Security Council in
resolving conflicts. Because the situation after WWII ensured that
only those five countries (China, USA, Great Britain, France, and
Russia) have a say, and according to the current situation, they
can influence all decisions.
Given the confrontation between Russia and China on the one
hand, and the West on the other, we can clearly see that it does
not work effectively in all conflicts. If the Non-Aligned Movement
is given a seat in the UN Security Council, those countries can act
by voting, as in practice.”
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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow him on
@elnurmammadli1