BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. Handing over Irevan to Armenia was unforgivable step, treachery and crime, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on December 24 at a meeting with intellectuals from Western Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
"For centuries, our people have made great sacrifices to protect their rights and to live on their historical lands. Despite this, however, our people were deprived of their native lands at various times in history. The 20th century was associated with great tragedies for our people in this regard. In one of its early decisions, the newly established Azerbaijan democratic Republic practically presented our historical city, the city of Iravan, to Armenia in 1918. It was an unforgivable step, it was treachery and it was a crime. We all know this very well, and our people should know it too. We must never give way to the distortion of our history.
There have been glorious pages in our history, but, unfortunately, there have been dark pages as well. I have repeatedly expressed my views on the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and its short-term activities. I have given a high assessment to the activities of the founding fathers of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. It was indeed the first republic in the Muslim world on a global scale, although it only existed for two years. At the same time, we should not forget the black pages of our history, we should not cover them up. First of all, historical truth should not be presented in a distorted manner. Secondly, that tragic event should serve as a lesson for all of us," President Ilham Aliyev said.