Azerbaijan won’t risk lives by sending peacekeepers to Gaza, president says
Published: 2026-01-06 07:17
"Regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip, in our view, it remains unclear who will issue the mandate and what its nature will be. Will these be ‘peacekeeping’ operations or ‘peace enforcement’ operations? These are two different things. We are naturally not ready for the latter, nor have we ever considered participating in it... I am not considering any participation in combat operations outside of Azerbaijan," President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with local TV channels on January 5.
"The second factor, which we communicated to our American partners, is that my country has suffered from aggression; it is a country that has endured heavy losses – to a lesser extent in the First Karabakh War, but significantly in the Second Karabakh War. Every Azerbaijani citizen is precious to us. We have no intention of risking the lives and health of Azerbaijanis for the sake of others. When we were in trouble, we were left to our own fate. No one protected us. Furthermore, with all due respect and sympathy for Palestine, Palestine did not particularly protect us either... I have always maintained that the affairs of Arab countries should be resolved by the Arab countries themselves. I remain deeply convinced that non-Arab Muslim countries should not get ahead of themselves. This will lead to no good," Aliyev emphasized.
"Regarding the possibility of participating in actions in the Middle East, we were surprised by the statement of the US Ambassador to the UN, who claimed that Azerbaijan had given its consent. We did not give our consent, and we informed the US administration through diplomatic channels that such false statements are unacceptable and create a false impression... We compiled a questionnaire of more than 20 questions and submitted it to the American side. Until these questions are clarified, no participation by Azerbaijan in any mission is envisioned... There is a great deal of speculation in the foreign press on this topic – especially when a high-ranking official of American diplomacy makes such irresponsible and false statements," the Azerbaijani leader added.
Source: Official website of the President of Azerbaijan
By Azerbaijani-Israeli Alliance Global News