Exit from NARA: Aliev actually abolished the key Azerbaijani autonomy

The new constitution of the Nakhichevan Republic has been finally approved in Azerbaijan. The mention of the Moscow Treaty between Soviet Russia and Turkey was deleted from the document. At the same time, the head of the autonomy is now considered not the speaker of the local parliament, but the president of Azerbaijan. In fact, we are talking about the abolition of any independence of the exclave. The reasons for this decision are described in the Izvestia article.

What happened

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has approved the new constitution of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR). One of the main changes was that the references to the Moscow and Kars Treaties of 1921 between Soviet Russia and Turkey were deleted from the preamble, which stated that Moscow and Ankara agreed to the existence of the NAR under the auspices of Baku.

Now, without any reservations, it is stated that the autonomous republic is an "integral part of Azerbaijan," and its status follows from the constitution and acts of independence of the country. It may seem like a cosmetic change, but the reality is more complicated. Thus, it is emphasized that the NAR exists not because of the balance between the major powers, but solely due to the goodwill of Baku.

In addition, according to the document, the head of the autonomy is not the speaker of the local parliament, but the President of Azerbaijan. The government of the NAR is also no longer subordinate to deputies, and the Cabinet of Ministers is becoming accountable to Baku. Finally, the Azerbaijani leader gets the right to dissolve parliament if he "does not fulfill his duties." Another important change is that in the future, the Constitution of the People's Republic of China will be rewritten not by a complicated procedure, but by ordinary laws, which will greatly simplify the process.

In addition, a separate article has appeared in the new constitution on the establishment in Nakhichevan of the institution of the plenipotentiary representative of the President of Azerbaijan, who will report directly to Baku. This body is considered part of the local executive authority, although in fact it will either head it or duplicate it.

In Azerbaijan, they say that all these changes are designed to unify the country's legislation. "Although the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan stipulates that the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is an integral part of our state, this provision was absent in the preamble of the autonomous Constitution itself. Now the gap has been eliminated," explains social activist Chingiz Ganizade.

He believes that the reform will help "get rid of the rudiments of the Soviet system." Ghanizade calls the amendments an important step in bringing the constitutional field in line with modern realities and part of the consistent policy of the President of Azerbaijan to optimize public administration and clearly delineate powers between levels of government.

What are the reasons?

Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic is an exclave in the South Caucasus. The population is about 470 thousand people. The region borders Iran and Turkey, and is separated from the main territory of Azerbaijan by the Syunik region of Armenia.

Due to its isolation, a specific political culture has been formed in the NAR. The local clans turned out to be very consolidated, independent, and quite strong-willed. And due to this, for a long time we have achieved success not only at home, but also at the national level.

In particular, the first popularly elected president of Azerbaijan, Abulfaz Elchibey, was considered a representative of the Nakhichevan clan. In addition, the head of this group was the father of Azerbaijani statehood, the long-term leader of the Soviet republic and then the independent country, Heydar Aliyev, who served as speaker of the Nakhichevan Parliament in 1991-1993.

Actually, the NAR flourished under Heydar Aliyev. In those years, Azerbaijan was waging a bloody war with Armenian forces over Karabakh, but Nakhichevan remained aloof from the conflict. Later, the politician admitted that he had conducted separate negotiations with Yerevan. "I have been in constant contact with the Armenian leadership. And I managed to find a common language with them. That's what the Nakhchivans said: we can endure any hunger or cold, just not to fight," Aliyev recalled in an interview.

At the same time, against the background of the economic crisis and the fighting in "mainland" Azerbaijan, the NAR established good relations with Iran and Turkey. They supplied the republic with electricity and food, and also tacitly helped ensure security on the line of contact with Armenia. In exchange, the influence of Tehran and Ankara grew in the exclave.

Then Heydar Aliyev led the whole of Azerbaijan for ten years, then his son Ilham came to power. At the same time, a fairly high degree of autonomy of the NAR was maintained. It was believed that the existence of such a republic could become a good example for the rebellious Karabakh.

In recent years, the situation has begun to change. In the spring of 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Azerbaijan closed its land borders, including with the NAR. Five years have passed since then, but the travel ban is still in effect. It is believed that the decision was made precisely in order to limit the republic's foreign policy ties. You can get to Nakhichevan by air, but the local airport is quite small, so there are few flights.

In 2022, under pressure from Ilham Aliyev, Speaker of the Nakhichevan parliament, political heavyweight Vasif Talibov, who had held his post for 27 years, resigned. At the same time, the NAR State Security Service and customs were reassigned to the central Azerbaijani authorities, and several local officials and ministers were imprisoned.

Now we are actually talking about the liquidation of autonomy. There may be several goals and reasons for this. On the one hand, Azerbaijan has resolved the Karabakh issue by force, so it is no longer necessary to demonstrate its tolerance for various poorly controlled territories.

On the other hand, we may be talking about geopolitical considerations. The existence of the NAR is no longer conditioned by good relations with Russia and Turkey, meaning Azerbaijan may consider that it is strengthening its sovereignty and reducing its dependence on external players. In addition, a unified Azerbaijan may consider itself entitled to conduct a more confident dialogue with Armenia on establishing ties between Baku and the exclave.

What the experts say

Ilham Aliyev wants to create a unitary Azerbaijan, where the personality and position of the president will be key, believes Caucasian scholar Artur Atayev. In this sense, the resolution of the Karabakh issue and the current de facto liquidation of the Nakhichevan autonomy are parallel processes.

"The ultimate goal is to create a united Azerbaijan, which Aliev will be able to pass on to his son, who, apparently, will gradually be incorporated into the political elite," the expert says.

In turn, Nikolai Silaev, a leading researcher at the MGIMO Center for Caucasus and Regional Security Problems, believes that nothing will fundamentally change for Nakhichevan. According to him, there has never been a desire to secede from Azerbaijan in the republic, there are no separatist movements there.

— I note that historically, many ethnic Armenians lived in this region, and that is why international treaties envisioned the creation of an autonomous territory. Now the Armenian population has disappeared, so now the legislation is being brought into line with the real state of affairs, with the real composition of the population," the Izvestia interlocutor emphasizes.