BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 28
Trend:
Representatives of the Armenian people have already approached our military positions in Shusha several times asking to involve them in this work because they are no jobs there, they live in the conditions of unemployment, poverty and hopelessness, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, Trend reports.
“Hardly had the war ended when we switched to action without wasting any time. This which showed the strength of our state because money alone is not enough to carry out all this work. We need resources, personnel, technical capabilities and competence. We have mobilized all our resources. By the end of this year, we will complete these and other issues related to electricity, for example. In other words, the entire region will be fully supplied with electricity. As you know, the construction and other facilities is also continuing,” President Aliyev said.
“Of course, we are doing this, first of all, for our citizens, in order to rebuild this region so that the former internally displaced persons can return there soon. The first such pilot project of a village will probably be ready in Zangilan district by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. At the same time, both the population of Armenia and the Armenians living in Karabakh can see this, as they watch our television, listen to our radio and know what is being done here. It is no coincidence that representatives of the Armenian people have already approached our military positions in Shusha several times asking to involve them in this work because they are no jobs there, they live in the conditions of unemployment, poverty and hopelessness. We have a positive approach to this, but the legal side of this matter must be fully observed. as I said, and I want to say it again, that we consider the Armenians living there as our citizens. They live and have always lived on Azerbaijani soil. Karabakh has always been Azerbaijan – both in Soviet times and before that. During the occupation, it was also Azerbaijan. We consider them citizens of Azerbaijan, they simply need to accept this and save their loved ones from Armenian propaganda. They should build their future, the future of their children. We will be ready to involve them in this work. Why not?” Azerbaijani president said.
“From a strategic point of view, we approach the future through the prism of reconciliation, because I want there to be no more war. In any case, we will not start war if revanchist tendencies do not raise their heads from the Armenian side. If we see that there is a threat to us in Armenia, then we will have to eliminate this threat. This is our legitimate right. But if there is no such threat, then we have no other thoughts. 25,000 Armenians live in Karabakh. They, too, can take part in these matters – both in construction and restoration work. In addition, we will create conditions for them in the places and villages where they live in the future. Take a look at our plans related to Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur. The master plan of the city of Aghdam has been approved. In the near future, we will approve master plans for the cities of Jabrayil and Fuzuli, and the districts as a whole. This testifies to our strength, and we can also do that in the Karabakh villages where Armenians live today,” President Aliyev said.
“After the occupation, after the Victory, I made dozens of trips to the regions and was horrified by the picture I saw in some of the villages where the Armenians used to live. In other words, it is a situation that is unbecoming of man. Housing in some villages is currently being analyzed, 95 percent of it is unusable. In other words, no-one can live there, so they must be demolished. So a community that has lived in such a humiliated state for 30 years naturally wants to see a light that will come only from Azerbaijan. One has to understand that this is a very easy issue for them either. The psychological state should also be taken into account here. But in any case, we are showing goodwill, and I do hope they will understand that their happy future, their prosperous future is connected only with the Azerbaijani state,” the head of state said.