Organisation for Economic Cooperation | Feel-good summit for Aliyev

In a cheerful mood, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev embraced the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Massoud Peseschkian, last Friday. Azerbaijan had hosted the 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and everyone attended: the presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Also present were the prime ministers of Pakistan and Kazakhstan, as well as the deputy prime ministers of Turkmenistan and the Afghan Taliban government. Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and other countries were also present.

The main winners of this summit are the current host, Azerbaijan, and the host of the next summit, Iran. Azerbaijan's leadership had invited the summit to Khankendi, better known by its Armenian name, Stepanakert . And with the guests came symbolic international recognition of the Azerbaijani campaign against the Karabakh Armenians in September 2023, which resulted in the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh being forced to leave. The symbolic choice of the summit location—Khankendi/Stepanakert—underscores Azerbaijan's ambition to gain international recognition for its control over Karabakh.

President Aliyev welcomed the participants to the "liberated city" and emphasized the progress in reconstruction and the return of displaced people to the region . It is no coincidence that the first part of President Aliyev's opening speech was dedicated to the 30-year Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the "ethnic cleansing" perpetrated by Armenians.

"During the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020, Azerbaijan defeated Armenia on the battlefield and liberated more than 300 towns and villages. On November 10, 2020, Armenia was forced to sign an instrument of surrender," Aliyev said. Under Armenian occupation, Aliyev continued, towns and villages, as well as cultural and religious monuments, were destroyed. "Of 67 mosques, 65 were completely destroyed by Armenia, and the remaining two were severely damaged and used as pigpens and cowsheds. This was disrespectful and an insult to the Islamic religion and Muslims around the world."

The fact that Iranian President Peseschkian travelled to Khankendi/Stepanakert must have been a blow to neighboring Armenia, which is at odds with Azerbaijan, since Christian Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoy excellent relations.

But more important to Iran than its good relations with Armenia is likely deepening its contacts with Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the Central Asian states. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's sharp criticism of Israel likely particularly appealed to Peseschkian. Netanyahu's policies, the Turkish president said, are "aggressive and destabilizing" for the entire region. "We will not remain silent while Netanyahu turns our region into a bloodbath," Erdoğan declared.

Erdoğan expressed his conviction that Khankendi would become a new development center in the Caucasus. During the summit, the city of Shusha was also declared the "Eco-Tourism Capital" for 2026. In addition to political issues, the summit also discussed economic topics, free trade, climate protection, and technological cooperation.

The appearance of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, also known as Mullah Baradar Akhund, who represented the Afghan Taliban government as deputy prime minister, caused surprise. He praised the summit as an "important historical moment" in a short speech. Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, however, caused confusion in his homeland by sending only a deputy. This sparked speculation in Kazakhstan that Tokayev did not want to alienate Russian President Vladimir Putin in light of the current tensions between Baku and Moscow .