President Aliyev: Azerbaijan’s army is among world’s strong armies
Today the world knows that the Azerbaijani army is among the strong ones. Azerbaijan’s President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev made the remark while addressing a ceremony to inaugurate the Defense Ministry’s new military camp built in the Absheron district on January 23.
President Aliyev emphasized that there is spiritual enthusiasm in the Azerbaijani army, patriotism is at a very high level, and the combat capability of the army is also highly appreciated today by the international community. “We know it and today the world also knows that the Azerbaijani army both from the point of view of combat capability and in terms of military and technical standpoint, is among strong armies in a true sense of this word,” said the head of state.
“We have reached all this by ourselves, by our own expenses, thanks to the strong economy,” he said, noting that without the strong economy, it wouldn’t be possible.
President Aliyev said that the newly-opened military town shows the strength of both our army and our country.
Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief stressed that Nagorno-Karabakh will never be independent, as Nagorno-Karabakh is an Azerbaijani land and both history and world community recognize it.
Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan are under the control of the Armenian military and separatists since a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended in 1994. Negotiations lasting for over 20 years have brought little progress in resolving the conflict, though a fragile truce has been in place.
President Aliyev stressed that the future status of NagornoKarabakh can only be possible within the Azerbaijani state. He said this is the resolution of the conflict, and “the sooner the Armenian leadership understands this, the better it will be for them”.
“The solution of the ArmeniaAzerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is very simple. Firstly, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored,” said President Aliyev. “We will never allow the second, fictitious, Armenian state to be created on Azerbaijan’s territory. Independence will never be granted to Nagorno-Karabakh. If someone waits for that, it won’t happen.”
As for the April battles, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief stressed that Armenia was forced to admit its bitter defeat.
One of the most tragic conflicts in the history of the 20th century and affected the destiny of millions again aggravated on April 2, 2016 after the Armenian military units in the occupied lands started shelling Azerbaijan’s positions.
To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Leletepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region.
Ilham Aliyev said the April battles showed whose army is invincible. He said: “The April battles are our big military victory. For many years, Armenia was creating myths about its army, disseminating fabrications that allegedly they have an invincible army.”
The president reminded that many high-ranking military officials, including defense minister of Armenia, were dismissed right after the April battles.
“This was a result of the April battles. Our soldiers, officers showed heroism. We had martyrs. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace! However, we defended our lands, and we liberated a part of our lands from invaders. The April battles should be included into military books. The Azerbaijani army showed both military professionalism and heroism,” added President Aliyev.
The president further said that a well thought-out policy stands at the foundations of this success.
“Azerbaijan is consistently conducting the army building process. Provision, supply and acquisition of modern technology, increasing the combat capability, as well as our military success are complemented by political success. We have proved ourselves on international arena as a very reliable partner,” added President Aliyev. “The number of our friends all over the world is increasing. The world community is getting more detailed information about our just cause.”
The president further noted that territorial integrity and putting an end to the occupation are the key factors for the conflict settlement.
“We must be even stronger to achieve these goals, and we are building a powerful Azerbaijani state which is being met with great appreciation on a global scale. We are building our free future; we have already built our independent life.”
Azerbaijan has been an independent state for 25 years already, President Aliyev said, adding that “we have achieved this without any help from anyone, as other countries do.”
“Today we must say frankly that Armenia just formally exists on the world map as an independent state. Armenia is a dependent country which is not able to determine its future itself. Armenia’s aggressive policy has led it to such a situation. Its only way out of the situation is to restore relations with its neighbors. To that end, the occupation must be ended,” said the president.