BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26
Trend:
Today, the number of countries interested in establishing closer ties with Azerbaijan is always on the increase, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev said addressing the meeting with a leadership and a group of military personnel of Azerbaijani Army on the occasion of the Armed Forces Day at Gulustan Palace, Trend reports.
“I want to say again that our preparations had to be comprehensive. Because we first had to succeed at the international level, and we did that. In recent years, leading international organizations adopted decisions and resolutions in support of our position. I repeatedly expressed my views on this issue before the war and tried to convey to the people of Azerbaijan the idea that this was one of the key factors in resolving the conflict. Because we had to prove that international law was on our side. We had to prove that Nagorno-Karabakh had always been the land of Azerbaijan. Why did we have to prove it? Because Armenia, its benefactors abroad, the Armenian lobby presented a completely distorted picture of the situation. Unfortunately, pro-Armenian forces, Armenia's patrons abroad tried to turn this falsehood into a reality. Our opportunities were very limited. Therefore, the main task for us was to convey the truth to the world community at the international level and to encourage authoritative international organizations to make decisions. And this is what happened. Leading international organizations such as the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and even the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, which have always taken an unfair position in relation to us, had to adopt decisions and resolutions that reflect the truth and meet our interests. This was the international side of the issue,” Azerbaijani president said.
“At the same time, we had to strengthen our relations in a bilateral format. Notice how much the number of our friends has increased in recent years. Today, the number of countries interested in establishing closer ties with Azerbaijan is always on the increase, and the second Karabakh war has shown it again. Armenia was almost in complete isolation. I will put aside the speeches and statements of some pro-Armenian foreign circles for now, but as a result of our tireless work, the world as a whole had a concrete and true picture of this war. In addition, our bilateral relations with many countries based on equal rights and mutual interests increased our strength. Brotherly countries led by Turkey, as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement and other countries supported us from the early hours of the war. This clearly shows how strong our international support is. Who supported Armenia? We know that perfectly well, and it would be inappropriate to name them in today's ceremony. But what did those statements change? Nothing! Because we acted on the basis of international law, justice and strength,” the head of state said.