AZERBAIJAN IN THE WORLD ADA Biweekly Newsletter Vol. 4, No. 9 May 1, 2011
[email protected] In this issue: -- Vilayat Guliyev, “Hungary and Azerbaijan: Toward Genuine Partnership” -- Michael Bishku, “The International Dimension of Security Dynamics in the South Caucasus” -- Paul Goble, “Progress Toward the Delimitation of the Caspian Sea” -- A Chronology of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Policy -- Note to Readers ***** HUNGARY AND AZERBAIJAN: TOWARD GENUINE PARTNERSHIP Vilayat Guliyev, Amb. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Hungary More than almost any other people in Eastern Europe, Hungarians see themselves as having special ties with Azerbaijan and the Turkic world, ties that reflect a distant but common origin of the two peoples in the Hunnic migration. While that sense has always existed among Hungarians, it has grown stronger in the post-communist era. And that provides a firm basis for the development of ties between Budapest and Baku. Because of their language, Hungarians have always viewed themselves as a Finno- Ugric people. But in recent years, scholars, officials and ordinary citizens have been 1 ever more inclined to stress that their ancestors, the Huns, have a Turkic origin. That sense of an ancient linkage has fostered growing interest in Azerbaijan and other Turkic countries, an interest that not only has generated special sympathies for Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis but also promoted the sense of commonality that can and in this case has helped produce agreements on many key political and economic issues of today. The current Hungarian government has declared that it considers the development of ties with Azerbaijan and other Turkic countries to be an important direction of its foreign policy.