President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made the remarks during his visit to Terter, Aghdam and Berde districts, APA reports, APA reports.
“We just destroy the enemy’s fire points very skillfully when they shell our positions. However, the Azerbaijani Arm must protect, and also protects and will protect its citizens. The settlement of the conflict will enable Armenia to build an independent state. I hope that their aggressive policy will end. Because there is no other way. The Azerbaijani people will never reconcile with this situation and the recent incidents once again showed that. The armed provocation committed against us did not remain unanswered. All know this. The sooner the Armenian leadership understands that they can develop only in peace with Azerbaijan, the sooner the conflict will end as well”, he stressed.
Saying that the conflict must be solved on the basis of norms and principles of the international law, the head of state mentioned that all international organizations, including the UN, the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Council, the Non-Aligned Movement and other organizations support Azerbaijan's right position.
“No international organization supports Armenia’s aggressive policy. No country has doubts over Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Azerbaijan's territorial integrity must be restored. The occupied Nagorno Karabakh and other occupied territories are our historical lands. Azerbaijani citizens must and will live in those lands. We will try to bring Armenia to the right path through negotiations. We will increase our diplomatic, political and economic pressures and strengthen our position on the contact line. If any Armenian provocation will be committed further, a deserved response will be given and the result will be the same. Because today the Azerbaijani Army is among the strongest armies in the world. The material-technical base of our Army has been strengthened to a great extent and increased. The army’s disciplinary level and combat readiness is at the highest level. It was proven by the April fighting. The morale is high. The feeling of patriotism is very high in the society, not only in the army. The whole population are united for the sake of a common goal. For us, there is no problem more important than the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. This is the number-one problem. We must settle this problem and we will.
I have always had huge respect for those serving in the army. What is needed for army building will be done. That’s what we’re doing. The biggest expenditures are military expenditures. Sometimes pro-Armenian politicians from different countries question me as to why Azerbaijan is increasing its military budget? [The answer is,] because we have faced invasion. Had it not been for this invasion, perhaps there would be no need for this. But life shows how right we are. If we had not had formidable military force, the situation on the contact line today might be quite different. Enhanced combat capabilities, logistics, newly bought arms and equipment, patriotism, professional military servicemen, who showed great heroism in the April fighting, are our greatest resources. You are serving here today, facing the enemy, defending our lands and people. This is a great and glorious mission,” said President Ilham Aliyev.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in 1988.
A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war, Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts (Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan), and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people.
The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.
Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group’s members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Finland and Sweden.
Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution, comprised of Russian, US and French co-chairs, which began operating in 1996.
Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
