Russian online newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta has posted an article "Azerbaijan breaks pre-election traditions. West and CIS leaders supported Ilham Aliyev”.
“Several months prior the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, the country has turned into the heart of international diplomacy. The visits of the western delegations and CIS leaders have become a testimony to the confidence of the unchanged course of the country even after October 9 too. Therefore, it is pointless to waste time on traditional pre-election interval if the matter is about the relationship with the state which has a reputation of a reliable partner and cemented its positions of a strong regional leader.”
The articles says: “Last week, Azerbaijan took over as a chairman at the Cooperation Council of Turkish-speaking states. The summit in Baku was attended by Presidents Abdullah Gul of Turkey, Almazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan as well as the Turkmen delegation led by the Vice-Premier Sapardurdu Toyliyev. The new status enables Azerbaijan to expand cooperation programs, which aim to ensure stability, security and development in the region.”
“The role of the unquestionable leader enables the state build equal relationships with all foreign partners. Defense Minister Safar Abiyev made an official visit to the USA earlier this month while the delegation of American congressmen visited Baku. There were talks between President Ilham Aliyev and Italian Premier Enrico Letta. The August parade of diplomacy rounded off with the Baku visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first trip of the Russian leader to the South Caucasus after his last year`s victory in presidential elections.”
“A member of the Civic Chamber of Russia, deputy head of the working group on the international cooperation and public diplomacy Sergey Markov believes that "the first visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to the South Caucasus, namely to Azerbaijan is undoubtedly an expression of the positive attitude of the Russian leadership towards Azerbaijan. Under Ilham Aliyev, the Russian-Azerbaijani relations have always developed constructively. There were no crises between our countries. On top of it, the economic cooperation including in the energy sector is developing and military consultations are being continued."
“Azerbaijan cultivates its ties with the USA, European Union, Turkey, Israel and other states. Russia, for its part, is interested in cooperation with the leader, sad German political scientist Alexander Rar. In an interview with to the Vestnik Kavkaza, he noted Moscow is in the mood of pragmatism and Azerbaijan is skillfully pursuing its policy without playing off one partner against another.
For example, the choice of the Transadriatic pipeline for the transportation of the Azerbaijani gas to Europe over Nabucco enabled Azerbaijan to maintain good relations with the West and extend a hand of friendship to Russia,” the articles notes.
"The decision to build the TAP is the best of all options for Russia. If the presence of the EU, and then probably Americans was dominant through, say, bigger western pipelines like Nabucco, it would get in the way of Russia," the expert said. He reiterated that the new choice envisages pragmatic cooperation between the West and Russia with Azerbaijan. Notwithstanding the pre-election period, the head of the government of Italy taking part in the TAP expressed his respect to Ilham Aliyev and the Russian delegation thrashed out future plans.”
Political analyst Rizvan Huseynov noted that the share of Azerbaijan in the GDP of the whole South Caucasus makes up 70 per cent. “Agreeing joint projects, the partnership have no doubts that they will be realized since the course of Azerbaijan will not change: the incumbent president enjoys the support of 80% of population according to the opinion polls,” he says.
Political analyst Parvin Darabadi told Echo newspaper that for the past ten years, Azerbaijan has achieved a huge and evident turnaround in its development. Heydar Aliyev took the reins of government in the post-war, destroyed and impoverished country. He devised a strategy of its development whose implementation game the major goal of Ilham Aliyev too who as his father looks into the future without forgetting about the past.
While in as early as 2002 the poverty level in Azerbaijan was 46.7%, it went down to 6% in 2012. The criticism against this backdrop from the Azerbaijani opposition, which has not changed its rhetoric for the past 20 years looks like a farce, said lecturer at the department of international relations of the Saint-Petersburg state university, political scientist Niyazi Niyazov siad in an interview to the 1News.
For the same reason why ordinary Azerbaijanis support their President, foreign partners also do not see an alternative to him. Both citizens of the country and leaders of the partner states are happy with the system created by the father and son Aliyevs. This system allowed Azerbaijan becoming a reliable bridge between East and West and guarantor of stability and economic development for not only the region but also Europe.

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