Safety and Openness: NEWS.ru Reported on the IV Shusha Global Media Forum

The IV Global Media Forum kicked off on July 13 in Azerbaijan's Shusha. Opening the event, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a press conference at which he made several important statements. Participants and experts, in turn, noted the high level of the venue's organization and the substantive nature of the discussions.

This was reported in a piece by the Russian outlet NEWS.ru

How Ilham Aliyev opened the media forum in Shusha

The IV Global Media Forum opened in Shusha, with this year's theme being "The Mission of Media in Promoting Peace: Restoring Truth and Rebuilding Trust." The event, which has already become a tradition, brought together approximately 160 media representatives, experts, and officials from more than 50 countries in Karabakh.

The forum was launched by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who held a three-hour press conference and answered questions from representatives of around 30 international news agencies and more than 60 leading media organizations.

What Ilham Aliyev said about relations with Moscow

One of the key statements was the announcement of the full normalization of relations with Russia. According to the President of Azerbaijan, all the difficulties that arose in relations between the two countries are now in the past.

"There were difficulties. Yes, we all know about them, but what matters is that this phase is already behind us. Contacts are being carried out at various levels — between governments, through the co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission, through foreign ministries, as well as presidential administrations. So I think everything is going well in this regard, and we are glad about that," Ilham Aliyev noted.

The President emphasized that relations with Russia are important not only for the two countries but also for a "broader geography," and encompass both traditional areas — transport, trade, humanitarian cooperation — as well as new spheres of interaction.

What Ilham Aliyev reproached France for

A separate segment of the speech was devoted to criticism directed at France. Ilham Aliyev stated that the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) — a non-governmental organization raising issues of inequality and violations of the rights of residents of French overseas territories — has become the target of unfounded accusations from Paris.

"I believe that human rights are a universal issue. The Baku Initiative Group is a non-governmental organization and is perhaps one of the most effectively operating NGOs that has managed to bring the issue of colonialism onto the global agenda," Ilham Aliyev said.

He recalled that French overseas territories have suffered from colonial policies for many years, referencing nuclear tests in Polynesia.

"In Polynesia, perhaps more than 200 nuclear tests were conducted. Today we see that hundreds of people