BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
Trend:
Of course, we were preparing for war all these years. We never concealed that because our lands were under occupation and we saw that a negotiated solution to this issue was impossible, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during meeting with members of martyrs` families and war disabled, Trend reports.
“We were further convinced of this in recent years. The conduct of the Armenian leadership, its provocative speeches, and steps convinced us and the international community that a peaceful solution to this war was impossible. However, high-ranking officials of the Minsk Group co-chair countries have repeatedly said that there was no military solution to the conflict. But we saw that there was no peaceful solution to the conflict either. Otherwise, this issue would have been resolved over 30 years. There was no interest in it or someone was interested in the neither-war-nor-peace situation. Someone was happy that the people of Azerbaijan were living in such a situation for 30 years. Someone was happy that our lands were under occupation, and it was almost perceived as a means of pressure on Azerbaijan. They tried to convince us that this was a reality, that this reality had existed for 30 years, and that Azerbaijan must come to terms with this reality. I kept saying that we would never put up with this situation. I kept saying that we would never allow for the creation of a second so-called Armenian state on our lands, and we did not allow that,” the Azerbaijani president said.
“We have mobilized all our forces, pursued a consistent policy for many years, done a great job in the international arena, in the economic sphere, in our relations with neighboring countries, in the implementation of regional projects, and, of course, in improving army building. At the same time, a young and patriotic generation has grown up. This generation has liberated our lands. Addressing the people of Azerbaijan from the Jidir plain in Shusha, I said that when I came to power in 2003, people aged 25-30 today were children. We raised them in the spirit of patriotism and loyalty to the state, and they liberated our lands from occupiers. In addition, young people who had never been to the occupied territories but were originally from those lands fought like lions for their lands. All the people of Azerbaijan, the representatives of all the peoples living in Azerbaijan united in one fist, defeated the enemy, and liberated our lands from occupation. This is a historic event. There has never been such a brilliant victory in the history of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has shown its strength to the whole world, it has shown the resolve of our people. The whole world saw again that if there is a will if there is strength if there is unity between the people and the government if there are determination and courage, justice will always prevail. We have demonstrated that,” the head of state said.