The chief spokesman and propagandist of the aggression Azerbaijan has unleashed against Artsakh is Hikmet Hajiyev, the aide to the President of Azerbaijan. He is the source of false reports and photos, which allegedly prove that Armenia is firing at Azerbaijan. On October 4, Hajiyev posted a photo of Ganja but was forced to remove it hastily – he had not noticed a Turkish soldier depicted on the photo.

“Shadow foreign minister”

Some circles in Azerbaijan consider 41-year-old Hikmet Hajiyev a “shadow foreign minister”, as in addition to the position of the president’s aide, he also heads the foreign relations department of Ilham Aliyev’s staff.

According to some sources, Azerbaijani FM Elmad Mammadyarov’s dismissal in July 2020 was the result of behind-the-scenes struggle between him and Hajiyev.

The new Foreign Minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, has no experience with diplomacy and essentially follows Hajiyev’s orders.

Former spokesman

Hikmet Hajiyev has been working for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry since 2000. From 2014 to 2018, he served as the Foreign Ministry Spokesman.

In February 2016, Hajiyev complained about Russia selling arms to Armenia as part of a USD 200 million loan.

“Azerbaijan demands guarantees from Russia that the sold weapons and military equipment will not be used by Armenia in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, as well as along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,” he stated back then.

Hajiyev vs. Pashinyan

On 10 May 2018, mere days after the Velvet Revolution in Armenia, Hikmet Hajiyev said he hoped that “Armenia’s new leadership will not make the mistakes of its predecessors and pursue a policy of normalizing relations with neighbors.”

“Instead of launching the social and economic reforms Armenians have long needed, the new Prime Minister of Armenia prefers to engage in political propaganda, touching on the Karabakh issue. We regret that he makes contradicting statements regarding the peace talks,” said Hajiyev.

Two months later, in July 2018, Hikmet Hajiyev described as “political show” the decision of Armenian PM’s son to fulfill compulsory military service in Artsakh.