The war in Ukraine will end not with a compromise, but with the capitulation of one of the sides: Ilham Aliyev
When will the war end? This question does not lose its relevance for a single day. It is placed at home, at the front, in the offices of politicians and at international forums. Ukrainians live in anticipation of this event, on which they place their hopes, fears, and desire to return to life. But how exactly will it be? Will everything really end in a peace treaty? Or maybe someone will have to lay down their arms? Will there be a compromise? Or, on the contrary, an uncompromising resolution? Politicians, experts, diplomats express their opinions about scenarios for the end of the war every day. Among them is the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who recently made an extremely sharp and straightforward statement that contradicts many optimistic expectations.
During the international forum, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated: wars in the real world do not end with armistices, compromises or frozen conflicts, they end with the signing of the act of surrender. His words quotes Central Asia Outlet:
“Unfortunately, wars end when the final act of surrender is signed. Our friend from Croatia said: they liberated their territory, went to their borders and stopped. We did the same. This is how wars end in the real world.” – said Aliyev.
Thus, Aliyev rejects the possibility of a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine on the terms of a political compromise or a ceasefire without solving the main issue — control over the territory.
These words are not accidental for the president of a country that has gone through two Karabakh wars and long years of occupation of its own territories. Aliyev clearly draws a parallel with Azerbaijan’s experience: neither the first ceasefire nor the long negotiation process led to a result. Only a military victory, crossing the border of territorial integrity and signing the deed of actual surrender of the enemy ended the conflict.
“Never. The ceasefire did not stop the war in our case either. This is only a temporary relief for countries to regroup, mobilize and start over.” Aliyev emphasized.
The President of Azerbaijan also emphasized: Russia officially declares the annexation of Ukrainian territories, and Ukraine will never recognize this. This conflict is fundamental, and neither side will back down.
“Ukraine, like Azerbaijan, like the whole world, considers these occupied territories to be part of Ukraine. How can Ukraine simply refuse them and say: no, this is not part of Ukraine? Well, if that happens, then I don’t understand anything about international politics.” – believes Aliyev.
He also added that expecting a compromise to the detriment of territorial integrity is unfair and unrealistic.
At the same time, Aliyev expressed direct support for Ukraine:
“We have always supported and will continue to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. As a country that also suffered from the occupation and violation of our territorial integrity, we fully understand this situation.”
Thus, Azerbaijan’s official position is not only the recognition of Ukrainian borders within the 1991 borders, but also full solidarity in rejecting a “compromise” solution to the conflict.
Aliyev’s statement is the most rigid and realistic view of the future. His words resonate with the increasingly frequent opinions of analysts: the war between Ukraine and Russia can end in only one scenario – the defeat of one of the parties, and not a declaration of intentions or a “freezing” of the conflict.
This view contrasts with the rhetoric of some Western politicians who are looking for a “reconciliation” formula. But in Ukrainian conditions, as in the history of Azerbaijan, concessions may not mean peace, but a pause before a new wave of war.
