Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev: A Leader Who Achieved What Others Could Not

In an article marking Azerbaijan's Victory Day, Emin Aliyev, editor-in-chief of Trend news agency, argues that President Ilham Aliyev achieved what others could not: ending the Karabakh conflict, long considered unsolvable. On November 8, 2020, Aliyev announced the liberation of Shusha. The author contrasts this with frozen disputes in Cyprus, Transnistria and Kashmir.

He says the settlement required three tasks: winning the war, completing the conflict and turning victory into diplomacy. Peacekeepers left Azerbaijan in spring 2024, after anti-terror measures in September 2023 lasted less than a day. On August 8, 2025, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Joint Declaration at the White House in the presence of the US president. A year after the Washington meeting, no gunfire is heard on the border.

The author concludes that no conflict is eternally frozen and that Azerbaijan's path shows force and diplomacy can work together.