Baseless feelings that one can dictate something to us have been and will always be met with our resistance, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the opening of the 7th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, APA reports.
"Armenia occupied almost 20% of our internationally recognized territory, conducted a policy of ethnic cleansing, which led to the deportation of a million Azerbaijanis from their historical lands, destroyed our religious and historical monuments, including 65 mosques in Garabagh, and was not sanctioned and was not punished. So this is a double standard. But double standards are not only about that. A double standard is also when someone wants to teach you how to live. Though before doing so, you should look into the mirror and ask yourself, “Do you have a moral right to lecture someone, to teach someone, to lecture an independent country on how to live, what to do, and what not to do?” We never do it. We concentrate on our homework. What is happening in other countries is a matter of the peoples of these countries. It's none of our business. So we expect the same attitude towards us, and we achieve it.
Any sign of disrespect, any sign of baseless feelings of superiority, and baseless feelings that one can dictate something to us have been and will always be met with our resistance and a very firm approach. So I think if the international community agrees on these basic rules of international behavior, then there will be fewer conflicts, fewer problems, and more interaction.
At least that's how we see it. Plus, in order to give you a more comprehensive picture, I also want to say that what has been achieved in Azerbaijan in these 35 years was achieved by the people of Azerbaijan. We didn't have any international assistance, and we came from devastation, occupation, and endemic poverty towards progress, towards development, towards success.
Today, if you look at Azerbaijan's foreign policy or economic performance or its role in the global energy and transportation markets, you will see that the role of Azerbaijan is growing tremendously. And in many cases, Azerbaijan is considered an anchor of stability in the unstable region. And also, our independent policy has generated a lot of respect for us," the head of state noted.
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