Baku, September 4, 2025
Former Azerbaijani foreign minister Tofig Zulfugarov described it as a “positive outcome” that India effectively prevented Azerbaijan from joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Zulfugarov argued that the SCO summit increasingly projects the image of an emerging anti-Western coalition.
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“Whether the project of creating an ‘anti-Entente’ of the 21st century will be successful and viable remains to be seen. For now, thanks to India, we avoided the fate of becoming part of this new bloc,” he said.
According to the diplomat, Azerbaijan’s most advantageous strategy under current conditions is one of “equal distance or equal proximity,” allowing Baku to preserve balance and independence amid global instability.
