Details added (first version posted on 17:33)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 23
Trend:
Armenia should know that any of its provocations will lead to heavy losses and shameful failure, Assistant to the Azerbaijani president, head of the military affairs department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, Colonel General Maharram Aliyev said in an interview with Trend.
"I express my condolences to the families of our soldiers and officers who sacrificed their lives defending the territorial integrity of our country and I wish them patience,” Aliyev said. “May Allah rest the souls of our martyrs! By heroism and courage, they once again proved that the Azerbaijani army is full of determination and is capable of properly responding to any provocations at any time."
Aliyev also spoke on Armenia's interests, following its gross violation of ceasefire and military provocation in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.
“Azerbaijan has previously witnessed provocative actions of the Armenian invaders in various directions of the front on the line of contact and our armed forces reacted to these actions, suppressing the attacks of the Armenian armed forces,” Aliyev stressed.
"However, I would like to draw attention to one more factor. This time, by launching attacks in the direction of Tovuz district, Armenian armed forces tried to strike a blow to the energy projects in which Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as Georgia, are engaged."
“As is known, such big international projects of the world scale as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway stretch in the direction of Tovuz district and having made a provocation in this direction, the Armenians imagined that along with the prestige of the Azerbaijani army, they will also damage the country's energy policy, but it became obvious that they were fundamentally wrong,” Aliyev said.
“The Armenian armed forces not only retreated but were forced to flee, leaving their positions, weapons,” Aliyev said. “The dominant strategic heights of Tovuz district are under the control of the Azerbaijani army, from which all the actions of the Armenian armed forces are seen.”
“Another goal of the Armenian side was to divert attention from the political and economic crisis inside Armenia,” Aliyev said. “Azerbaijan's diplomatic success hastened the political fiasco of the occupying country. Therefore, by making a provocation towards Tovuz district, Armenia tried to dispel internal discontent, as well as divert the attention of the international community from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
“As a result, the problem of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has become more evident for the world community while Armenia found itself squeezed as a result of the double defeat,” Aliyev said. “That is, if today the international political community continues to support Azerbaijan’s fair position, this must be considered as Armenia’s military and political collapse.”
While commenting on the fact that Armenia is beyond all regional projects, the assistant to the Azerbaijani president described this as the result of the vicious, treacherous and aggressive policy of both the current and previous leadership of this country.
"The current authorities, which doomed the Armenian people to hunger and poverty, does not know what to do now, it has no choice,” Aliyev said. “I reiterate that this is one of the reasons for the provocation in the direction of Tovuz district, but Armenia's filthy plan failed.”
“On the other hand, we also know that Armenia, which has lost foreign countries’ confidence, has always become a victim of its own mistakes,” the assistant to the Azerbaijani president added. “Even the Armenians living in other countries, subsequently showed their true colours by committing betrayal and treason. Here it is appropriate to recall the atrocities of illegal Armenian armed groups and organizations in Turkey, France, Georgia, Azerbaijan and other countries.”
“The factor of aggression and ultra-chauvinism is inherent in the character of Armenians, and of course, those who know, understand and are aware of this character will never trust them,” Aliyev said. “This is an indisputable fact that has become an axiom of our time. Which normal country, state may implement any joint project or cooperate with Armenia, knowing all this? Of course, none of the countries may. For this reason, Armenia and its leadership must abandon the perfidious, aggressive policy, drop its unrealizable claims to overcome this difficult, hopeless situation in which it finds itself.”
The assistant to the Azerbaijani president also expressed opinion on the strong international support rendered to Azerbaijan during the recent events.
In particular, Aliyev stressed that Azerbaijan’s voice of justice was heard and supported by big international organizations, certain influential politicians and statesmen.
"In this context, I would like to emphasize that this is based on the tireless activity and strong will of Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev,” the assistant to the Azerbaijani president added. “For this purpose, the president always touches upon this issue during all his meetings, stating that our people, our state will never put up with the fact that Armenia occupied our lands.”
“The Azerbaijani president emphasized and emphasizes that if other side does not put an end to this, Azerbaijan is able to ensure its territorial integrity, liberate the occupied lands, protect, maintain the inviolability of state borders, in full compliance with the requirements of the international law,” Aliyev said.
“The Azerbaijani army demonstrated its might, gave a tough rebuff to the occupier, having won the April 2016 battles and the Gunnut operation in May 2018 and this must be an unforgettable lesson for Armenia,” the assistant to the Azerbaijani president said.
“This time, our army also harshly suppressed the Armenian provocation in the direction of Tovuz district, making it clear that it would inflict crushing blows on Armenia as a result of appropriate operational measures," Aliyev added.