As part of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, a panel session titled ‘Defining Eurasia’s Economic Identity’ was held on January 20.
Azernews reports that Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev attended the event.
Moderator: Welcome to the World Economic Forum 2026, and to this session, ‘Defining Eurasia’s Economic Identity.’ With competing interests from the West to the East, the balance of influence and power in the Caucasus and Central Asia is being redrawn as we speak. Ambitious infrastructure plans and emerging trade corridors intersect with heightened competition over resources. How can the region make the most of these expanding routes and strengthen its role within them? This is what we are going to discuss today at the session, and it is my greatest honor to introduce the speakers. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia; Ebru Özdemir, Chairperson of the Board of Limak Holding, Trkiye; and Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the Republic of Armenia. I am going to take this moment to introduce myself. My name is Sasha Vakulina. I am Euronews’ Europe Correspondent.
It is my great honor to be moderating this session today and to be with you. I am going to start slowly, and I am going to just go into the beginning of this session, if I may, to open it and get into it. Azerbaijan and Armenia worked out a historic peace deal after decades of tragedies, changing the course and the future for the two countries, but also for the whole region. Just as we now witness the fast-changing global order. You know how much effort it has taken to close the painful chapter. I would like to ask President Aliyev and President Khachaturyan: how do you look to the future now? What does the future hold? Both of you being here together at this session is already a great message in itself.
President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, you are absolutely right. It was a historical achievement last August when the two countries initialed a peace agreement, thus putting an end to more than three decades of war and bloodshed. The uniqueness of this peace deal is that it was signed less than two years after the last bloody clash. So it demonstrates that if you have a strong political will from both sides and a commitment to peace, then you can reconcile in a relatively short period of time. What has been signed today is transforming into practical results. Not only have we lived in peace for only 5-6 months, and we enjoy this situation, but neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan, as independent countries, ever lived in peace. When we became independent in 1991, we were already at a military standoff. But today, the benefits of peace are reflected in the beginning of cooperation. The first cargo of critical products, oil products, from Azerbaijan is being transported to Armenia, and in itself, it brings prices down.
So it was absolutely unimaginable maybe two or three years ago, but today, it is a reality. And I think nothing can interfere with this process. What we need to do more, I think, is for both sides to demonstrate the results of living in peace, so that we can also witness the full support of our societies through this process. But I am very optimistic, because really what has been achieved is a tremendous benefit to Armenia, to Azerbaijan, and to the Southern Caucasus, and it sets an example of how countries that were once in very deep, hostile terms now transform into a phase of cooperation.
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President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan said he fully agrees with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that ‘the future depends on us,’ noting that the leaders of the two countries are demonstrating their political will with determination.
‘As President Ilham Aliyev has said, we have demonstrated political determination for peace so that from now on practical steps will prove and confirm peace. We have not seen this for 30 years. But now we are living in conditions of peace and tranquility. This is truly an incredible development,’ he said.
Recalling that goods are already transported from Azerbaijan to Armenia via the territory of Georgia, Vahagn Khachaturyan expressed confidence that these cargoes would pass directly through the territories of the two countries.
The Armenian President said: ‘I am also grateful to President Ilham Aliyev, and we appreciate the work done. Today, or perhaps it was yesterday, if I am not mistaken, President Aliyev said that we must learn to live in peace and tranquility. Believe me, this is not an ordinary situation for us, because before these documents were signed, we were not accustomed to it. Every day we would wake up wondering what had happened at the border, whether the shootings were continuing. This was always a source of stress for us. Now I want to assure you once again that we must forget this past and begin implementing concrete projects. We will succeed, we believe. Our agreements are based on very concrete principles. Yes, as countries, we respect each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdictions – these are guiding principles. Yes, our borders will one day open, and just a few years ago the political will was not at this level. There will also be routine business trips. Ordinary citizens will be able to cross the borders freely and build relations. We will make use of these opportunities, and as a result of this cooperation, the South Caucasus will become a very favorable region for the whole world.’
‘Thank you to President Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and I must also thank our Prime Minister. I am grateful to both leaders for the political will they have demonstrated,’ Khachaturyan emphasized, noting that there is one goal here, and that is peace. Peace will come. ‘I apologize, and I repeat once again that the issue is not staying in power, but achieving peace. For years, due to certain political reasons, the peace process was delayed, although negotiations continued and there were no results. Eventually, the leaders of the two countries agreed on common principles,’ he added.
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Responding to the question ‘How do you see Serbia’s role as a bridge between Europe and Asia?’, President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic spoke about the importance of countries cooperating with one another against the backdrop of developments in the modern world, saying: ‘The Caucasus countries are intermediaries between Europe and Asia and, at the same time, hub countries. In fact, all three of us are members of the European political community.’
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Answering a question about which strategies could enhance competitiveness in terms of attracting investment, Chairperson of the Board of Limak Holding Ebru Özdemir said that investment is made in any country only when there is long-term stability, peace and tranquility. She noted that without stability, no one would invest in a country.
Touching upon the participation of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the event, Özdemir emphasized that long-term peace and tranquility indicate that investors will come to the country. ‘I have also read the agreement signed on TRIPP; there are quite well-defined principles,’ said the head of Limak Holding, stressing that investments will be attracted precisely thanks to such agreements. She also noted that more could be done regarding the Middle Corridor.
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Adding to Özdemir’s remarks, President Aleksandar Vucic said that today peace and stability are more important than ever. He expressed regret that certain principles are not being observed in the modern world. No one respects the principles of multilateralism, he said, adding that this is a major mistake and a repetition of past errors.
Moderator: I will specifically also pick up on what you said: ‘Nobody cares about multilateralism, and it’s all about national interests.’ I would like to address that to President Aliyev. What’s your take? How do you then see this solution, as President Vucic said? How do you survive, and how do you try to soften the stress of the current shocks in the world? The current shape and face of multilateralism is not just changing, but it’s not working that well.
President Ilham Aliyev: I think that everything is in our hands. It depends on your agenda. It depends on your vision, on your strategic vision for the future. Coming back to peace with Armenia, and prior to that, 30 years of conflict, we really had very difficult times as a country, as a nation-losing territories, millions of people homeless and internally displaced. But we did not lose hope. We did not lose our courage to try to restore justice, international law, and our sovereignty. It took us 30 years. International institutions at that time-30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago, and now-their behavior didn’t change. We changed. We stopped believing in someone who would come and fix things for us. All our hopes for international mediation totally collapsed.
The United Nations Security Council-the highest international body-adopted four resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Armenian troops from our territories. They remained on paper. The OSCE and other international institutions adopted numerous resolutions. All of them did not materialize until we took the situation into our hands, and we did it. We restored justice, international law, our sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and then we achieved peace.
And then we stopped. For the leader of a country that suffered for 30 years, to stop at the right time is a very responsible and important decision. We could have continued. I want to be very open with you and with the audience, but that would have led to endless wars, more suffering, and more victims. Then the war would never have ended. Someone had to stop it, and we decided to stop it.
Yes, it was a joint decision by the Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership to close that chapter and to see the opportunities for peace. And we, as I said, I think it was record speed-from war, from the serious military clash of September 2023, to August 2025, when the Prime Minister of Armenia and I signed the Declaration, and the peace deal was initialed in front of President Trump. President Trump signed the declaration as a witness. As I said, we put an end to this war in the world’s number one office.
We should not rely on international institutions. I agree with Aleksandar that today this situation may be more severe than ever before, but I do not share his certain pessimism, because if you take the situation under control, if you are dedicated to your national interests and to the future of the nation you are leading, then you can achieve success.
With respect to multilateralism, unilateralism, and protectionism, we see that everything is crumbling. The World Trade Organization is crumbling. By the way, Azerbaijan did not join the WTO, though we’ve been invited for 30 years, just because we want to maintain economic sovereignty. We want to have political sovereignty, while at the same time maintaining good relations with numerous interlocutors.
Look, we have strategic partnership documents signed with 10 members of the European Union, a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed with China, and a Strategic Partnership Charter being discussed with the United States. All of this is possible. It does not contradict one another. When you have a clear vision for your country, for your future, when you have power-even a consolidated society-and when you do what is right, it does not matter who says what or who publishes articles about you and what you are doing.
So I am more optimistic, especially in our case with Armenia. It is probably one of the unique cases when we have real peace after three decades of war and bloodshed.
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Answering a question from the moderator, President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, stated that the war would have continued had the political leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan not reached a fundamental agreement: “I agree with President Ilham Aliyev that otherwise, this war would have persisted. It would have dragged on indefinitely – an event promising no future. Therefore, I do not accept any political approach that leads to war and the loss of human life.”
The Armenian President noted that the leaders of both countries chose the path of peace and the prosperity of their peoples, which is the most paramount issue. “I am optimistic that we will succeed,” Khachaturyan said, adding that there would be joint economic and cultural projects between the two countries. He noted that there is already a precedent for this; representatives of the civil societies of both countries have already met, and in the near future, business communities and entrepreneurs will also convene. He further remarked: “People in Armenia are already filling their cars with Azerbaijani gasoline. Previously, there was a hostile stance regarding this issue, but these are the new realities.”
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Chairperson of the Board of Limak Holding Ebru Özdemir discussed the regional processes, noting that very positive developments are taking place between Azerbaijan and Armenia. She stated that Trkiye would play a mediating role in this regard and that borders would be opened. She said: “Azerbaijan is our brother and friend. We must also mention Georgia. In this panel, we are primarily discussing regional investment. What have we failed to do before? What must we implement now? What else can be achieved? If there is peace and stability, there is no reason why investment should not follow.”
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Moderator: It’s a very interesting dynamic. As the Eurasian region and the countries that you are representing here strengthen cooperation with each other for the region, as you said, the global geopolitical landscape looks completely different. There’s no strengthening; there is rather cracking and shaking. And I would like to get that as closing remarks from all of you speakers, please. How do you see, with this challenging, shaking, and rather fragile global landscape, the place of Eurasia in that picture, President Aliyev?
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President Aliyev: Well, Eurasia is a very big geographical environment. What we are thinking about is, of course, our region and our immediate neighborhood. I am very glad that during the years of independence we managed to establish very close working relations with all our neighbors, of course, except Armenia, for the reasons we all know. But now, after peace de facto is established, we have also started economic cooperation and export operations. Azerbaijan lifted all the restrictions on the transportation of cargo to Armenia-from Kazakhstan, from Russia-and now we have received a request from the Armenian side to provide transit from Armenia to Russia. So we de facto, unilaterally opened the corridors. Yes, the transportation goes through Georgia, but one day it will go through Armenia. One day Armenia will go directly through Azerbaijan, and that day is not too far away.
We have established a very close alliance relationship with Trkiye, which is a brotherly country, and we have huge investments in Trkiye. Our investments in Trkiye exceed 20 billion US dollars. We are one of the biggest investors in Georgia. With TRIPP and the connectivity project, which the United States is now supervising, we will establish a new transportation corridor stretching from Asia across the Caspian, through Azerbaijan, Armenia, part of Azerbaijan-which is Nakhchivan-Trkiye, and further down to Europe, in addition to the existing corridors through Georgia. So the more routes, the better for consumers, suppliers, and transit countries.
As a country, we always concentrate on our regional agenda. If we cannot achieve what we want in the region, we cannot have any aspirations for any kind of global event. But today, especially after the parallel tracks of Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Trkiye rapprochement-which go in parallel and will definitely end in parallel with the establishment of diplomatic relations between Trkiye and Armenia, and Azerbaijan and Armenia at the same time-we are changing the broad geographical area, part of Eurasia, which is very important for connectivity, energy security, and peaceful stability. This sets the example of how long-lasting wars and conflicts can transform into partnership and cooperation.
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President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan then remarked that it is, in fact, quite difficult to speak following President Ilham Aliyev.
“I find myself echoing the President’s sentiments, as the views expressed by President Ilham Aliyev align perfectly with our own perspectives and principles. Whether it is the Middle Corridor route or the new logistics opportunities emerging in the South Caucasus, these initiatives are gaining increasingly vital importance. Consequently, the strategic significance of our region continues to grow – not only for the European Union and individual European nations but also for the Far East,” the Armenian President stated. He concluded by emphasizing that, as President Ilham Aliyev noted, there must be a long-term and long-lasting peace.
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“I am very happy for my friends in the South Caucasus,” said President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic as he spoke about Azerbaijan’s investments in Serbia. He also noted that direct flights are planned between Belgrade and Baku, as well as Tbilisi, and that similar direct flights could also be organized with Armenia. “Thus, in addition to our cooperation with the West, we will expand our partnerships toward the East and strengthen ties with our friends,” he added.
The Serbian President continued: “There is a shared view regarding the points made by Mr. President Ilham Aliyev: he is truly one of the most distinguished leaders in the modern world, which is a significant fact. His leadership has a profound impact that cannot be denied. Indeed, we are witnessing the reality of a modern Azerbaijan.”
At the conclusion of his speech, Aleksandar Vucic emphasized his hope that, through the support of kind and friendly nations such as Azerbaijan, Trkiye, and Armenia, Serbia will be able to overcome its challenges.