Vice Chancellor a. D. HC Strache on the conference "Europe's Energy Security and the Crisis in the South Caucasus"

Iran’s threat to Azerbaijan. How to prevent another war.

Vienna (OTS) – These were the main topics of the high-level conference that took place on April 6th in the Hotel Bristol in Vienna. “Europe proved unprepared for the crisis resulting from the conflict in Ukraine. Nobody foresaw the rising prices, the food shortages and the energy crisis in time. Now we have to strive to be prepared for future threats,” said Austria’s former Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, who organized the conference on behalf of a German company and also chaired it. Right at the beginning, Strache referred in particular to the threat scenario of a possible Iranian military strike against Azerbaijan. This could jeopardize gas and oil supplies from Azerbaijan to Europe and exacerbate the current energy crisis.

Many guests from politics, industry and business followed an interesting discussion with the following participants:

Efgani Dönmez, management consultant, former member of the Austrian National Council. D. (formerly The Greens and ÖVP, today non-party)

dr Wendelin Ettmayer, Austrian diplomat / ambassador / Council of Europe a. D., former member of the Austrian National Council. D. (ÖVP)

Harald Fischl, entrepreneur, former member of the Austrian National Council. D. (formerly FPÖ and BZÖ)

The unanimous tenor of the successful conference: Europe must close ranks in order to secure the energy supply from Azerbaijan by providing the necessary support for stability in the region, which is currently being thrown into difficulties by Iran. “Unfortunately, France is currently backing out here, especially since it has demanded that deliveries from Azerbaijan be banned, which in turn makes Europe more dependent on Algerian, Russian and Iranian sources,” says HC Strache.

Public attention was also drawn during the conference to the plight of northern Iran’s vast Azerbaijani minority – the ‘Southern Azerbaijanis’ – who, according to sources, number more than 20 million and are facing repression by the mullahs’ regime. A representative of this minority was also scheduled to attend the event but was unable to attend due to security concerns. Instead, a documentary was presented about their struggle for human rights, which also showed that eight major South Azerbaijani organizations have come together to emphasize their demand for recognized sovereignty. This was also underscored by a petition signed by numerous Israeli Knesset members.

“All in all, Europe must now show its colors, clearly name violations of human and international rights, appeal to the countries concerned and, if necessary, take appropriate steps as a consequence. This is the only way we can prevent new military conflicts, which would only fuel the current crisis,” said the chairman of the conference, former Vice Chancellor. D. HC Strache, in unison with the discussants.