BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 12. We can conduct any operation on our lands at any time, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with an Azerbaijani TV channel, in Basgal village, Trend reports.
"Simply, the fact that Operation Revenge was very effective but short shows that our strength is in place. At the same time, it showed that we do not want a new war. Because the second Karabakh war showed our strength and we achieved what we wanted through military and then by military-political means. We will achieve our other dreams too. We will achieve them when the time is right. It is a reality that there are both tactical and strategic steps on our agenda. I am sure that Armenia is also aware that we know what to do and when to do it, and we always do what we say. We have repeatedly warned Armenia not to play with fire, to behave, to accept the new reality and not resort to military provocations.
Unfortunately, we have had to teach them another lesson. I do hope that this lesson will be remembered this time.
Operation Revenge was not only aimed at avenging the blood of our martyr. As supreme Commander-in-Chief, I also set other goals and objectives, and all of them were fulfilled. The result is obvious, so I wouldn’t want to talk too much about it. I simply want to say that we did what we wanted, and the other side has been forced to accept this again.
In principle, Armenia must come to terms with this situation, with the new reality in the future, because there is no other option. Operation Revenge showed Armenia again that no-one and nothing can stop us – not someone's statement, not someone's announcement, not some phone call. Nothing and nobody! The people of Azerbaijan know this perfectly well. The second Karabakh war showed this. I am sure that the other party also knows this. They simply forget this sometimes. This is why these tragic events happen.
We won the war. We have regained our territorial integrity. Why should our children die after the war is over? Why should they get killed by the Armenians? We cannot allow that. I want to say again that if a provocation like this is repeated, the response will be even harsher, they will be even more sorry and implore for help even louder. But let me say again that our intention is not to start a new war. Enough is enough. We have achieved what we wanted. We want the Armenian armed forces to leave Karabakh once and for all. This is Armenia's commitment. This was stipulated in the act of capitulation Armenia signed on 10 November 2020. We are achieving it and will continue to achieve it.
I should also note that hundreds of Armenian soldiers were withdrawn from the Karabakh region after Operation Revenge. This shows, unfortunately, that such operations have an effect. The reason I say “unfortunately” is that it was not necessary to do this. If Armenia had correctly analyzed our warnings and drawn the right conclusions, there would have simply been no need for this. Anyway, we weren’t the ones who started it. We have secured what we want, we have established ourselves in our own lands and this will continue to be the case," said the head of state.