In addition to the openly hostile attitude towards Azerbaijan, which is evident both at the expert and political levels, a narrative is being spread suggesting that after COP29, Baku intends to commit “another act of aggression against Armenia.” These baseless, empty, and sometimes outright fantastical accusations against Azerbaijan are made regularly. The reason for this paranoia is well understood in Baku – it stems from the fact that Azerbaijan has no intention of following orders from forces detached from the region’s interests.
As the 29th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) approaches, political pressure and targeted attacks by anti-Azerbaijan forces are only intensifying. These efforts, aimed at undermining Azerbaijan, are typically orchestrated from a single center. Certain circles cannot come to terms with the fact that Azerbaijan, after years of inaction regarding Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories, has restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty by its own means.
The fact that Baku acted on its own, without waiting for empty promises to be fulfilled or for calls to end the occupation to reach their destination, has fueled resentment. Azerbaijan is not violating international law; it cannot be easily accused or held accountable. Nevertheless, it has become the target of slanderous propaganda from pro-Armenian forces.
One of the pretexts for this fabricated anti-Azerbaijan campaign has become the upcoming climate conference. The opponents of Azerbaijan are resorting to all kinds of tricks and political acrobatics to discredit Baku. While ingenuity is commendable, using it to smear a country with dubious accusations looks comical and unprofessional.
The politically motivated attacks on Azerbaijan, which are more related to the hosting of the climate summit, are a notorious attempt to cast doubt on the country’s achievements on the international stage, including the restoration of sovereignty over all its territories under international law. The baseless accusations from Western countries are, in fact, an attempt to avoid fulfilling their own climate financing obligations. All that anti-Azerbaijan forces seem capable of is throwing informational mud at the host country of COP29.
Political analyst Rasim Musabekov commented on the growing wave of negativity directed towards Azerbaijan in an interview with Minval.az.
The West Avoids Climate Commitments by Attacking Azerbaijan Ahead of COP29
“The disputes are not only about the West’s financial obligations regarding the climate. Western countries, in my opinion, reasonably suggest that financial responsibilities should be shared not just by the West but also by China, whose CO2 emissions are comparable to, if not greater than, those of European countries. The West insists that oil and gas producers take on some of the burden, although it’s unclear why coal producers – both companies and countries – should be exempt. These disputes are valid, but a solution must be found,” he noted.
Regarding the informational attacks, the expert believes they would have happened even if Azerbaijan were not hosting COP29.
“It’s clear that anti-Azerbaijan forces are trying to take advantage of the fact that global attention will be focused on Azerbaijan as the host of COP29. But this is not our event – it’s a UN event. Azerbaijan has taken on certain financial obligations and bears the organizational burden. Yet, they are attempting to exploit this attention to undermine Azerbaijan through information manipulation and to pressure the country into making concessions they believe would benefit Armenia,” said Musabekov.
The expert is confident that anti-Azerbaijan forces will achieve nothing, noting that “Azerbaijan’s hosting of Eurovision, the European Games, and other major events has shown that it’s pointless to try to force concessions from Azerbaijan through media attacks. On the contrary, Azerbaijan adopts a tougher stance.”
“Nevertheless, some people are paid for this, receiving guarantees of support from Armenian lobbyists or communities, especially in the context of elections – be it in the US, France, or other countries,” Musabekov added.
“It’s clear that they are pushing this anti-Azerbaijan campaign to serve their own interests, but they will not succeed. They will earn their ‘thirty pieces of silver,’ but the processes will continue, driven by the real interests of states and Azerbaijan’s ability to defend its own. I believe Azerbaijan has more than enough capability to withstand these attacks, and I have no doubt that COP29 will be held at the highest level, with all the tasks that can be achieved at this stage being accomplished,” Musabekov concluded.
