Azerbaijani President slams von der Leyen's Middle Corridor remarks, cites Georgia's omission as “unfair”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday criticised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for failing to mention Georgia during her remarks on the Middle Corridor at the summit held in Uzbekistan.

In his remarks, Aliyev noted that he understood the sentiments of European bureaucrats towards Armenia, but argued that geographical realities cannot be ignored.

“I was, to put it mildly, surprised when I was informed about the statement made by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the summit in Uzbekistan. She spoke about opening the borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Armenia and Turkey, in the context of developing the Middle Corridor, which they refer to as Europe’s Global Gateway. It was very strange, because this corridor already exists, and Armenia plays no role in it”, the Azerbaijani President said.

Aliyev emphasised the significant role of Azerbaijan and Georgia in facilitating connectivity between Europe and Central Asia. He pointed to Georgia's Black Sea ports, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Azerbaijan's Alat port on the Caspian Sea, and Caspian Sea shipping as crucial components of this transport network.

“All of this has been ignored. The investments we have made are being disregarded. The focus was solely on the possible opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia, and between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But what does Europe have to do with that? These are bilateral issues and have little to do with the EU. Not a single word was said about Georgia, as if Georgia doesn’t exist. That is unfair”, he concluded.