(MENAFN- AzerNews) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev addressed the people of
Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World
Azerbaijanis and the New Year, Azernews reports.
In his address, the President said:
The year 2023 is coming to an end. A number of significant
events took place in the life of our country in 2023. Of all these
events, however, the restoration of our state Sovereignty will
forever remain in the memory of the Azerbaijani people. Following a
one-day anti-terrorist operation carried out in 2023, Azerbaijan
fully restored its state sovereignty, the occupying forces were
expelled from the territory of Azerbaijan, the enemy army was
crushed, and its military hardware was either destroyed or taken
over as trophy. I would like to once again sincerely congratulate
all the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of this historic
event.
When the Second Karabakh War ended in 2020, and our flag was
raised in Shusha and other liberated territories, we all knew
perfectly well that our work was not completed. Azerbaijan had to
restore its state sovereignty in full, and so it did.
We wanted to resolve the issue peacefully for three years. We
believed that the Armenian leadership would properly analyze the
results of the Second Karabakh War and draw the right conclusions.
Unfortunately, this did not happen. For three years, not only did
Armenia fail to fulfill its obligations, but it actually staged new
military provocations against us and carried them out. The
15,000-strong Armenian army illegally stationed on our lands was
not withdrawn from Karabakh. On the contrary, new weapons,
ammunition, military equipment and mines were delivered into
Karabakh, and mine terror against us continued.
Of course, we could not put up with this situation. We
repeatedly warned the leadership of Armenia and the western
countries behind it that this situation could not continue like
that. Either the separatist regime is dissolved, and the Armenian
army is withdrawn from our territory, or we would restore our state
sovereignty by force. Regrettably, our words fell on deaf ears. The
anti-terrorist operation, which started on September 19 and lasted
only one day, even less than that, ended with complete victory of
the Azerbaijan army. The separatist regime collapsed, fell to its
knees before us, waved the white flag, surrendered, was forever
expelled from our lands, and thrown into the trashcan of history.
With this, the very roots of separatism in Azerbaijan were
eradicated, and separatism – that scourge will never raise its head
in our lands again.
The Azerbaijan army demonstrated its professionalism and heroism
again. Our soldiers and officers showed an example of
self-sacrifice. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in
peace! Their dear memory will live in our hearts forever. I must
state that the blood of our martyrs did not remain unavenged. We
took revenge on the battlefield, for our soldiers, officers,
civilians, victims of Khojaly, the martyrs of the First and Second
Karabakh wars, as well as the anti-terrorist operation.
In April 2023, we fully restored our territorial integrity. A
border checkpoint was established on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border
in the direction of Lachin, and the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan has been fully restored since that day. The people of
Azerbaijan remember very well the anxiety that it caused around the
world, especially in western countries standing behind Armenia and
constantly supporting it, as well as the baseless accusations made
against us. But no accusations and pressure could affect our
resolve. I said back then that no-one could influence our
determination. We are on the right path, we have regained control
over our border, and we will not allow anyone to call the shots on
our land. This is our land, we are the owners of this land, we will
do whatever we think is necessary within the framework of
international law, including international humanitarian law. But
that did not serve as a lesson for the occupiers. It did not serve
as a lesson for the anti-Azerbaijani forces standing behind them
either. This is why the anti-terrorist operation carried out in
September was inevitable, we carried it out and are proud of it.
Every citizen of Azerbaijan and every Azerbaijani across the world
rightly feels proud of that.
Karabakh and East Zangezur have turned into a huge construction
site now. We are rebuilding our cities and villages, and about
5,000 formerly displaced persons returned to their native lands
this year. In March of this year, on the eve of Novruz holiday,
there was a festive mood in the village of Talish, as displaced
persons returned to their native homes. In August, celebrations
were held in the city of Fuzuli and the village of Zabukh. This
year, displaced persons returned to Lachin as the Independence Day
was celebrated – May 28 was a great holiday in Lachin. Prior to
that, as you may know, displaced persons had settled down in the
village of Aghali. So, life has now returned to five residential
settlements.
I must also note that formerly displaced persons and refugees
will return to several more residential settlements in 2024. I want
to share the joyful news with them today and inform that the
villages of Karkijahan, Malibayli and Turshsu will be completely
restored and made available to the formerly displaced persons
during upcoming year. Residents of Khojaly and Khankendi will also
return to their homes.
In addition, several residential settlements will be ready to
accommodate formerly displaced persons. We, the owners of these
lands, are building and creating there. We are a nation of
creators. For 30 years, the Armenians had been destroying our
lands, razing our houses, historical buildings and mosques to the
ground, committing acts of genocide against us, perpetrating the
crimes of urbicide and ecocide. Our rivers have been poisoned and
our forests have been destroyed. All this was done by the Armenian
state. Unfortunately, they have yet to become an object of
condemnation for these crimes in the West.
Double standards are pervasive in the West today. The people of
Azerbaijan are well aware of this and, at the same time, know
perfectly well that we will do what we think is right despite all
the pressures, threats and unfounded accusations. Just as we have
done to this day, we will continue to do so. The Armenian
leadership should also draw the right conclusions from these
historical lessons and behave in such a way as not to provoke our
anger.
We have also successfully conducted an economic policy this
year. An independent economy allows us the opportunity not to
depend on anyone, not to depend on any international financial
institution, and we are not.
We have significantly strengthened our army, elevating the level
of professionalism and creating new armed units. These units,
working together with other units of armed forces, demonstrated
exceptional professionalism in the anti-terrorist operation. New
weapons and military equipment have been purchased and delivered to
the country with a number of new contracts signed. Let me also
state that domestic military production will be significantly
increased next year. The public and private sectors will invest at
least one billion manats in military production next year. Thus, we
will not just provide ourselves with critical assets, Azerbaijan
will also become a country to be reckoned with on a global scale.
The volume and range of our military products will increase to a
large extent.
Our international prestige is growing by the day. In December,
all countries of the world unanimously voted to hold the world's
largest international conference in Azerbaijan – COP29 will be held
in Azerbaijan next year. This is a sign of tremendous respect and
reverence from the international community, but also a high
assessment of our transition to green energy. The green energy
transition is our priority, and the region's largest renewable
energy plant was put into operation in Azerbaijan this year – a
230-megawatt solar power plant has already been fully integrated
into our energy system. Based on the agreements and memorandums of
understanding signed, 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy will be
created in Azerbaijan in the next few years and Azerbaijan will
become one of the world leaders in this field. Of course, the fact
that COP29, an international conference on climate change will be
held in Azerbaijan is further evidence of our successes in this
field.
This year was declared a Year of Heydar Aliyev in Azerbaijan.
The 100th anniversary of the National Leader was widely celebrated
across the country. I spent this dear day for me, my father's
birthday, in Shusha. Addressing the people of Azerbaijan from the
central square of Shusha, I expressed my heartfelt words and said
that our actions were the greatest sign of respect for the memory
of the National Leader. I believe that our National Flag that I
raised in Aghdara, Asgaran, Khojavand, Khojaly and Khankendi on
October 15 was a sign of profound respect for the memory of the
National Leader. Our Victory Parade in the central square of
Khankendi on November 8 was also a sign of our immense reverence
for the memory of the Great Leader.
Today, Azerbaijanis all over the world are truly proud of
independent Azerbaijan. Today, Azerbaijanis of the world are
celebrating the World Azerbaijanis Solidarity Day with a completely
new mood. For three years now, Azerbaijanis of the world and all
the people of Azerbaijan have been very excited and are holding
their head up high with dignity.
Our historic victory, our victory in the Second Karabakh War,
the anti-terrorist operation, liberation from the occupiers and the
collapse of the separatist regime have rightly brought all
Azerbaijanis together into one fist. The Iron Fist has been the
symbol of our victorious chronicle. Today, the Iron Fist is also a
symbol of our unity, and I would like to assure the people of
Azerbaijan and all Azerbaijanis of the world that the Iron Fist
will always be in place.
Dear brothers and sisters, I wish you robust health and every
success. I do hope that 2024 will be a successful year for our
country and people. Happy holidays!
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