Criticism of Azerbaijan is not always very vocal. Because Baku has several assets: gas diplomacy, of course, but also the so-called “caviar” diplomacy, less known but very effective.
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Will the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis force the countries of the European Union to review their policy towards Azerbaijan? In any case, this is what some diplomatic sources are whispering. The Azeri offensive, which resulted in the exodus of 1,200,000 Armenians from this enclave, is strongly criticized in the West. However, Baku holds several advantages over its Western partners, notably with its gas reserves, which represents 2% of European consumption, but also its very influential diplomacy.
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Since coming to power 20 years ago, Ilham Aliev, the Azerbaijani president, has done everything to try to impose the image of a trusted partner. But in the early 2010s, a corruption scandal broke out within the Council of Europe. Several influential members of the institution received millions of euros from Azerbaijan: this is “caviar diplomacy”. “There are trips offered, gifts, and of course cash envelopes or even money transfers“, says journalist Benoît Bringer, director of the documentary Caviar Connection broadcast on Arte. “What Ilham Aliev wants is to stay in power and continue to benefit from the oil and gas windfall that there is in Azerbaijan.”
“No punishment, no reaction”
At the head of a think tank on questions of democracy in Europe, Gerald Knaus is one of those who helped to break the scandal. He explains that US diplomatic cables describe the Aliyev family “like the Corleones of the Caspian, it’s a mafia family”.
“It’s the perfect crime! You take a lot of money, you concentrate your efforts on corrupting people, on paying bribes. You do this for a long time, and when it comes out: no punishment, no reaction! It’s almost an encouragement to continue.”
Gerald Knausat franceinfo
If 14 members of the Council of Europe have been excluded for life from the institution, Azerbaijan has, in fact, never been sanctioned.