In the early years of our independence, nearly 20 percent of our internationally recognized territory was occupied by Armenia. As a result of Armenia’s policy of ethnic cleansing, over one million Azerbaijanis were expelled from their ancestral lands, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the Summit of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), APA reports.
Almost 30-year-long negotiations yielded no results, as Armenia aimed to perpetuate the occupation. The statement by Armenia’s prime minister in the then-occupied city of Khankendi “Karabakh is Armenia, full stop” completely ruined the negotiations.
In November 2020, the Azerbaijani people gained the brightest victory of our history. Azerbaijan defeated Armenia in the 44-day Patriotic War and put an end to occupation. We ourselves enforced the four UN Security Council resolutions of 1993 that had remained on paper for 27 years.
Regrettably, even after that, Armenia failed to comply with its obligations. Around 15-thousand-strong military contingent of Armenia’s armed forces were left stationed in Azerbaijan’s sovereign territories. Our military servicemen fell victim to their military provocations.
To counter these threats and to eliminate the grey zone, we conducted an anti-terror operation in Karabakh on 19-20 September. In just one day, we fully restored sovereignty over our entire territory, including the town of Khojaly, where a genocide against our people had been committed in 1992. Azerbaijan eradicated aggressive separatism in its territory. I express my gratitude to all countries who have congratulated Azerbaijan on this historic victory.
Currently, the large-scale restoration and reconstruction works are being carried out across the liberated territories. We are building new cities and villages from scratch. As an initial step, we are planning to restore 100 residential settlements, including nine cities and eight settlements. Former internally displaced persons are returning to their ancestral lands under the Great Return Program. 140 thousand IDPs will return to their homes by the end of 2026.
A school for 960 students named after Mirzo Ulugbek which is Uzbekistan’s present to Azerbaijan, was inaugurated this August in the city of Fuzuli. A gift by Kazakhstan, a creativity center named after Kurmangazy, is under construction and will be unveiled next year in Fuzuli. Once again, I thank President Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev and President Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev for this brotherly support.
In conclusion, I am grateful to the heads of state and government for accepting my invitation and attending the Summit. I express my confidence that this Summit will give a new impetus to our relations.
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