Ilham Aliyev visited a statue to national leader Heydar Aliyev and met with public figures in Horadiz

President Ilham Aliyev has arrived in Fuzuli District on a visit.

The head of state visited a statue of national leader Heydar Aliyev in Horadiz.

Head of Fuzuli District Executive Authority Ali Aliyev informed President Ilham Aliyev about the work carried out in the district recently.

It was noted that the expansion and reconstruction work in the Heydar Aliyev Park, where the statue of the national leader is located, was successfully completed. The area of the park was expanded to 2.5 hectares. The green areas were laid out and entertainment corners installed to ensure effective organization of people`s rest in the park.

The President then met with representatives of the local public in the Heydar Aliyev Center located in the park.

The head of state made a speech at the meeting.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- I cordially greet you and am very glad to come to Fuzuli District again. This is my fifth visit to Fuzuli District. Every time I am here I see new things and feel genuinely happy about that. I heartily congratulate you on all the successes achieved!

The development of Fuzuli District is always in the spotlight. You can also see and know that. The state policy is carried out consistently. A lot has been done for the development of the district in recent years. Social and infrastructure facilities and new enterprises are being created. In previous years we established a sports complex, a medical center, a Mugham center and other facilities. A hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 25 megawatts was built. It is of great importance not only to Fuzuli District but also to the entire region. We are building roads – both rural and between cities. Of course, Horadiz is already a city that is improving by the day. It develops and stands out for its beauty and comfort.

Infrastructure projects form an integral part of the reconstruction work ongoing in Fuzuli. Projects of rural roads and drinking water are also being addressed, gasification is provided in a consistent manner. Currently, the level of gasification exceeds 70 per cent, but by the end of this year gas will be provided to all the settlements. These are the realities of the present-day Azerbaijan, the strength of Azerbaijan and the development of the region. Remaining committed to this policy, we will carry out work in this area in the future too, so that development could go even faster. I have already attended several events today, and more activities are planned. One of them is a project to restore houses destroyed and burned by the Armenians during the war. This is enormously important because the entire infrastructure and homes were destroyed and burned during the Armenian occupation. You remember that too well. This is evident from the photographs demonstrated here. However, under the leadership of great leader Heydar Aliyev the glorious Azerbaijani army expelled the Armenians from here and completely liberated the region from the enemy. Armenian occupation forces were driven out of 22 villages, paving the way for the process of creation and development. Therefore, in the city of Horadiz we see a resurgent Azerbaijan, a strong Azerbaijani army and the policy of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

At the same time, we see that after all the lands currently under occupation are liberated, they will be like Horadiz. We will rebuild the city of Fuzuli, we will rebuild the completely destroyed Agdam, we will restore Shusha and all other cities. I am absolutely sure – and I convinced that the Azerbaijani people know this – that we will restore our territorial integrity. Azerbaijan has the capacity to do that, and this is inevitable. We are simply trying to achieve that through talks and without bloodshed. But we are ready for any option because truth and justice are on our side. Nagorno-Karabakh is native Azerbaijani land. You, the people who were born and live in Karabakh, know this better than anyone else. These are ancestral lands of Azerbaijan – Khankandi, Shusha. They are temporarily under occupation, but we will put an end to that. We live on our own land, defend and will continue to defend our land. I am confident that the restoration of our territorial integrity is inevitable. The enemy also knows and must know this.

The events that took place on the frontline earlier this month demonstrated the strength and power of the Azerbaijan army, as well as the powerlessness and helplessness of the opposite side. Azerbaijan is a guarantor of peace and security. Therefore, we are still trying to resolve this issue peacefully. But we are also conducting a consistent policy to isolate Armenia from all projects. Armenia is experiencing a profound crisis – economic, political and military. At the same time, Armenia’a population is gradually shrinking. Our population is growing and theirs is reducing, and the course of history will lead to the fact that in a few years this difference, this gap between us will reach such proportions that this in itself will play a positive role in the negotiations. Meanwhile, we are strengthening our army, enhancing our economic strength, developing the regions and stepping up our standing on the international arena. We are going from strength to strength every day, while Armenia is weakening by the day. Armenia has itself acknowledged that it will not be able to survive, achieve economic development and even protect its own security without external assistance. Senior Armenian government officials already admit this. In essence, this means a collapse of the Armenian state because the greatest asset of each nation is independence. By effectively using the years of independence, we live as a fully independent country and a free nation today, while Armenia's aggressive policy did not allow the Armenian people the opportunity to gain true independence. Now they live in a dependent and helpless state. They cannot exist without foreign assistance and donations. They are still holding our lands under occupation but they also know that this is a temporary situation.

We will consistently pursue our policy. The work under way in all the regions of Azerbaijan today demonstrates the power of the Azerbaijani state and the talent of the Azerbaijani people. The development observed in every region makes me happy. I have repeatedly visited each district. I have come to Fuzuli for the fifth time. But the development of Fuzuli and Agdam Districts is particularly gratifying. You live face to face with the enemy. You are showing great courage and fortitude. Here in Horadiz, which stands face to face with the enemy, we see a beautiful and comfortable city. Let them look at their cities. In terms of comfort Horadiz is by far ahead of their capital – the ancient Azerbaijani city of Erivan. This is a reality. This is seen and should be seen by everyone. The Azerbaijani public also needs to know that.

I had a meeting with young people in Beylagan today. As you know, we are currently implementing an excellent program of sending the youth to various regions. In other words, during the holidays young people travel from one region to another to get to know Azerbaijan better. We are implementing a program "Let’s know our country". I would like to see more people coming to this region, to Agdam and Fuzuli, and see that everything here was destroyed. You know very well that the Armenian barbarians did not leave a single home here. Everything has been destroyed, looted and taken away. But look – we have restored that. Horadiz is a city, a beautiful city with roads, alleys, public places, parks, jobs, schools, kindergartens, a Mugham center, a sports complex – everything is available. And it will be even better.

The development of Fuzuli District is of particular importance – both for Karabakh and for Azerbaijan in general. Therefore, we will continue to do everything possible for the development of the district. The measures that will be adopted here will further strengthen the district.

A total of 227 destroyed and burnt houses have been restored. Today I visited one of them. But there are still more than 300 destroyed homes in different places. Now I have given the instruction to prepare a proposal, so that we could start the restoration of these houses too. Today more than 50 per cent of the Fuzuli population is already housed here. We have built 16 settlements and restored houses. I am now told that the people of Fuzuli are returning here even from Baku. Of course they should! Here, on home soil, there are excellent facilities, a great climate and improvement. Therefore, this process should go even faster, and to do that we need to create even better conditions here. I ask the head of the executive authority what else we should do. He tells me that everything has now been done. But I know that further work needs to be done. No villages and towns of Fuzuli District should have any problems. We will achieve that. Most of the work has been done and we will do the rest of the work together.

My greetings once again! I congratulate you on all the successes achieved.

                                                                                        X X X

President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Thank you for the kind words. I also want to say that I love the people of Fuzuli very much and am very pleased to see this development in Fuzuli. One issue always gives me pain, worries me, and I have repeatedly pointed it out in my speeches. Unfortunately, the great leader was not in Azerbaijan at the decisive moments for our country. The Armenian nationalists bend over backwards, sent many anonymous letters and denunciations to Moscow at the end of the 1980s in order to alienate him from the political scene. Of course, the then Soviet leadership was also unfair to Heydar Aliyev. Why? Because he was a man who always spoke his word and feared no-one! Truth and justice were the main factors for him. The then Soviet leaders thought that everyone should bow to them. So they removed Heydar Aliyev from the political scene. Hardly had two weeks passed after that when the Armenian nationalists raised the issue of joining Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia in the western media, and the Soviet leadership supported it and gave it a further impetus. If Heydar Aliyev had been in Azerbaijan and on the political scene at the time, not an inch of our lands would be under occupation now. Never! And the demographic situation in Nagorno-Karabakh would be entirely different today. In those years, as a result of the creation of industrial enterprises, construction of the railway and the implementation of other measures in Nagorno-Karabakh, the demographic situation was improving. In fact, the Armenians openly said that Heydar Aliyev wanted to change the demographic situation. The great leader wanted to restore it because the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh had for centuries been home to the people of Azerbaijan. This is our native land. At the beginning of the 18th century the Armenians were relocated here from Eastern Anatolia and Persia. If I may say so, they were imported. Why? In order to change the religious composition in this region! This was the goal. And then they artificially began to dominate the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Thanks to the efforts of Heydar Aliyev, we were rectifying this justice, and when the conflict began the Azerbaijanis already formed 30 per cent of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. After 10 or 15 years, the Azerbaijanis would have constituted 50 per cent and this issue would never have been raised.

Unfortunately, grave mistakes were made in Azerbaijan at the time, and the Armenians took advantage of them by raising this issue. The Soviet leadership gave an impetus to that. After the collapse of the Soviet Union even greater injustice was committed in relation to Azerbaijan, and ultimately our lands were occupied. We did not have sufficient military capability at the time. And yet, thanks to the personal qualities and courage of the great leader, as well as the confidence of the people in him, we freed these lands from the enemy. We do not want a resumption of hostilities. Who wants it? But at the same time, we can never come to terms with this situation. Armenia wants nothing to change and everything to remain as it is. But this is impossible. Unfortunately, the mediators dealing with this also want this. They always tell us not to fight and solve the problem through negotiations. We also say fine, through negotiations, but for how long?

The Minsk Group has been active for 22 years, if you can call it activity at all. Its activity consists only in keeping the situation unchanged. Therefore, while analyzing these issues again from a historical perspective, we can see that we can rely only on our own strength. We can rely on the power of the Azerbaijani people and the power of the Azerbaijani state. We, the people of Azerbaijan and the strengthening Azerbaijan, will resolve this issue.

In order to resolve it, of course, international affairs must be taken into account. The regional situation and external political factors must also play a role. Undoubtedly, the growing power of Azerbaijan and our strength in the economic, political, international and military spheres are beyond doubt. Our strength will gradually increase and the power of the Armenians will decrease. They are facing a demographic crisis now. Even the elderly are forcibly taken to the army and posted in trenches. There was an incident recently. Perhaps the public will also be informed about that in the near future. Elderly residents of Armenian villages near our border in the Tovuz and Gazakh direction were forced to put on military gear, given rifles and sent to the trenches. That is a reality.

But today we are strengthening, there is elation, Azerbaijani soldiers are professional soldiers and the Azerbaijani people are persistent. You live here face to face with the enemy, while there, in the Tovuz and Gazakh direction, Armenian villages are empty. Of course, there are no Armenian villages on the frontline – here, in Agdam or elsewhere. All of this is Azerbaijani land. But in the Tovuz and Gazakh direction there are Armenian villages. People are running away from there – they are afraid. Their president has personally admitted recently that one of the reasons for the mass exodus of people from the country is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Parents are afraid and do not want to send their children to the army. In other words, why should their citizens die for this criminal regime? Therefore, the Armenian people must understand that as long as this criminal regime remains in power there, the development of Armenia is impossible. The Armenian people should get rid of this criminal Karabakh clan. Now they are called the Karabakh clan. But in fact, Karabakh is our historical land, but they are called the Karabakh clan in Armenia. I am confident that the Armenian people should show wisdom. They, too, like other nations, want to be independent and free and do not want to live under the rule of a criminal regime.

Our war is a just war. We want the issue to be resolved fairly – in accordance with the norms and principles of international law. Justice and international law are on our side. This is our historical land. From a legal point of view, too, this is our land. No country recognizes and never will recognize the self-styled "Nagorno Karabakh republic" as a republic. This creates an excellent foundation that enables us to restore our territorial integrity at any time. There is a variety of factors behind this – economic, military, political and international. We need to take steps so that the result was 100 per cent, 200 per cent. And it will be so!

Today Horadiz is a beautiful city. The city of Fuzuli will become even more beautiful. Inshallah, we will improve it together and make it even more beautiful. Once again I wish you good health and every success.