Azerbaijan heads Non-Alligned Movement – will not enter any military bloc for 3 years
There were two main results of the 18th summit of the Non-Alligned Movement which took place on 27 October in Baku and where the representatives of 120 countries took part, including presidents and heads of state.
• Azerbaijan will head the movement for 2019-2022, which means that it cannot enter into a military bloc during this period. Experts say thus, Azerbaijan will not enter the Russia-led CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), despite the fact this was being actively discussed in recent months.
• Following the summit, the Baku Declaration was adopted, which stipulates support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and speaks about the occupation of its territory – having in mind Armenia and Karabakh, though neither names are mentioned.
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“The fact of the occupation has been reaffirmed by the international community,” wrote Hikmet Hajiyev, head of the department of international relations of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, on Twitter.
In addition to the final document, the Summit adopted a Declaration on Palestine, the document has not yet been published and it is unclear what it says.
Venezuela presided over the movement before Azerbaijan. At the current summit, its president, Nicolas Maduro, handed over the chairmanship to Ilham Aliyev.
“We must protect our countries from hegemony. We have our own weapons to deal with this. We represent a variety of regions, and this makes us a strong player in the international arena. Eighty percent of the world’s oil and gas reserves are in the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement”, Maduro said at the opening of the summit.
On social media, few were particularly happy about the holding of the summit in Baku. Moreover, a number of the heads of state in NAM are known for their dictatorial rule – for example, Maduro himself.
Some typical comments:
“And what about the fact that the summit recognized the occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan? What is the use of this?”
“Dictator friends gathered in Baku. Probably for the exchange of experience.”
“Not a single normal country is included in this movement. This summit of blocked roads and the unnecessary inconvenience of Baku people is not worth it.”
