President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has chaired a meeting of the Security Council.

The head of state addressed the meeting.

Speech of President Ilham Aliyev

- Yesterday afternoon, Armenia committed yet another military provocation in the direction of Tovuz on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. This is not the first time Armenia has committed military provocations on the state border. As a result of these military provocations in the last few months, our servicemen, as well as civilians, have been killed. Several of our servicemen were killed as a result of another provocation yesterday afternoon. Artillery fire was opened at our military post, and as a result of this insidious act, our servicemen were killed and wounded. May Allah rest our martyrs in peace and send healing to our wounded soldiers.

I can say that yet another provocation of Armenia was resolutely prevented and adequately rebuffed. The death of our soldiers has been avenged. All the attempts of the Armenian side failed, Azerbaijan protected its state border and Armenian soldiers could not cross even an inch into Azerbaijani territory.

The situation on the border continues to be tense today. I was in touch with all relevant agencies and commanders last night. I was informed early this morning too that the situation on the border has not stabilized. All the responsibility lies squarely with the military-political leadership of Armenia. Such events occur because of the hypocritical and dishonest activities of the Armenian leadership. On the one hand, it appeals to the international community and asks for help in strengthening the ceasefire on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line. On the other, by committing military provocations it wants to invade the territory of Azerbaijan, seize our positions, fire on the civilian population and our villages. This ugly and insidious policy will lead Armenia to the abyss. All the responsibility falls on the leadership of Armenia. Azerbaijan will continue to protect its territorial integrity and borders. The crushing blows inflicted on the enemy yesterday afternoon and this night showed this once again. Our fallen servicemen have been avenged, their blood has not and will not remain on the ground.

Such ugly acts are a manifestation of their aggressive policy. It is impossible to explain this policy logically. Because this policy is very contradictory and poses a great threat to Armenia. I have said this many times and I want to say it again that Azerbaijan will never put up with the occupation of its occupied lands, will not put up with the occupation and will do its best to restore its territorial integrity.

Relevant appeals have been sent to international organizations, and as soon as the operational situation permits, we will invite foreign military representatives operating in Azerbaijan to the area so that they can see the situation with their own eyes. Let them see who committed this military provocation, what happened as a result of this military provocation and who is responsible for the escalation of the situation. Ours is a cause of justice and Azerbaijan will not take a step back from its principled position.

As you know, the domestic situation in Armenia has already reached a critical point. Internal commotion is pervasive. At the same time, they are very concerned about the recent international successes of our country. This has strengthened their sense of envy. In particular, our successful activities within international organizations, recent statements by all leading international organizations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the decisions made, the support for the territorial integrity of our country have, of course, dealt a serious blow to Armenia's position on the conflict. At the same time, the specific facts and convincing arguments we regularly communicate from high-profile podiums on the history of the conflict and the history of the region have undermined their propaganda, of course. The whole world already knows that Nagorno-Karabakh is historically the land of Azerbaijan. There are enough documents confirming this, and we are now sharing these documents with the wider international community. At the same time, the whole world recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. There are many international documents and statements confirming this. In particular, the recent so-called “elections” in the self-styled “Nagorno-Karabakh republic” were not only not recognized by any country, but were also condemned by all leading international organizations, neighboring countries and countries involved in this issue. Thus, support for the territorial integrity of our country was once again expressed and it was once again made clear that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan.

Therefore, the current chaos in Armenia and the fact that events are reaching a critical point have prompted them to commit these heinous acts. On the other hand, it is no secret that Armenia has long been trying to form an opinion on the conflict, especially on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, that it is Azerbaijan that attacks the territory of Armenia. However, this is a lie. All the attacks are committed by Armenia, and this is well documented, there are video and photo documents. Azerbaijan simply responds adequately to all provocations. If Azerbaijani positions and Azerbaijani villages are fired upon from the territory of Armenia, of course, we will respond and give an fitting rebuff. Therefore, Armenia is using all opportunities and, at the same time, fabricating information and doing its best to draw attention to the state border. Yesterday's military provocation is another manifestation of this ugly policy.

I think that another reason for this provocation is that Azerbaijan has recently achieved great success in the international arena. In was on our initiative that summits of international organizations have been held. A special session of the UN General Assembly has been held on our initiative. This proposal was supported by more than 130 countries, and Armenia opposed this initiative and once again humiliated and isolated itself from the world. Today, with its incomprehensible position on the fight against COVID, which is at the top of the world agenda, it attracted the attention of the whole world to its ugly policy yet again. How can it be that at a time when Azerbaijan requires that the whole world unite in this struggle, Armenia opposes it?

Therefore, Armenia is losing almost all its support in the international arena. The internal situation is quite tense. Everyone understands now that the promised “prosperity” was just a fantasy, a lie. Of course, the information released by the Armenian authorities about yesterday's incident is another sign of a lie. In their report, they want to shift the responsibility towards Azerbaijan. However, there are no grounds for that, and I want to say again – all independent experts can confirm this – our military post was hit by artillery fire without any reason. As a result, our servicemen died. They are only strong enough to fire on the civilian population or to suddenly open fire on our military post. They did so and once again revealed their ugly and insidious nature.

I want to say again that the enemy received an adequate response yesterday and this night. Our servicemen have been avenged and we will continue to do so in the future. The blood of our servicemen and martyrs does not and will not remain on the ground. We will use every opportunity to defend ourselves and show the enemy its place again.

Then the meeting of the Security Council continued behind closed doors.