Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the meeting with servicemen in military unit N on the frontline in Goranboy District

A group of distinguished servicemen were presented with awards today. These awards are well deserved. You have displayed knowledge, professionalism and loyalty to the country, you serve in difficult and harsh conditions, face to face with the enemy on the frontline.

All those serving in military units, soldiers and officers alike, deserve a high assessment. But special attention should be paid to those serving on the frontline, face to face with the enemy. Their service must be evaluated separately.

The process of army building is going well. Last year and in previous years we purchased weaponry and hardware. Some of the weapons demonstrated today are newly-acquired. We produce the necessary equipment ourselves. We also purchase and will continue to purchase it from the world's leading manufacturers. At present, our army is the strongest army in the region for its combat capability.

The material support for servicemen is also improving. I expressed my thoughts on this issue at a Cabinet meeting a few days ago. I mentioned that salaries are rising and will continue to rise. Besides, first sergeants and officers with a good service record of 20 years will be provided with flats by the state. This process has begun, this is an initiative that requires very large resources. But we must do it because our officers, those who serve the country faithfully and professionally, must feel even more support on the part of the state.

These are our beautiful mountains. Some of these mountains are occupied by the enemy. After our positions start the administrative borders of the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region. Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan. In Soviet times, Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomy, an autonomous region within the Republic of Azerbaijan. The world community still sees and recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani land. That’s how it should be, because Nagorno-Karabakh is true and historical Azerbaijani land. Even the word Karabakh is Azerbaijani. I have no doubt that we will restore our territorial integrity. The sovereignty of Azerbaijan must and will be restored also on areas outside Nagorno-Karabakh that are currently under occupation. The Azerbaijani flag must and will be hoisted in Nagorno-Karabakh. I have no doubt about that. Our growing political strength and military capabilities are bringing this sacred day closer.

Azerbaijan is developing rapidly today. Compared with previous years, our country has come a very long way. In the early years of war, the Armenians aided from abroad and their foreign benefactors occupied our lands. But in the last stages of the war the Azerbaijani army freed several villages from the enemy and created conditions for the return of our population. In the early years of war we had no regular army. The Armenians, primarily assisted from abroad, with the aid of mercenaries and foreign support, managed to capture our lands. Today the Azerbaijani army in several times stronger than Armenian. It would probably be irrelevant to talk about economic indicators. Our economic potential is perhaps 10 times higher than that of Armenia. I want to repeat that our army is the strongest army in the region in terms of professionalism, combat readiness and logistics. We are still building up the power of our army. This year we will allocate major funds for military issues. We are buying hardware, weapons, combat helicopters and aircraft, modern appliances. We are giving preference to technological development.

At the present stage, the result on the battlefield is determined by courage, affection, devotion to the country and technology. A crucial role on the battlefield is played by new technology now. We are applying modern technologies. I have seen some of them today. We can see enemy positions very well, we see their movements. And they know this. We seek to restore our territorial integrity without bloodshed. With this aim we conduct negotiations. So far these talks have not yielded any result. At the same time, the restoration of our territorial integrity by any means available, including militarily, is our sovereign right. This right is granted to us by the UN Charter. Each state can and should use every opportunity to defend itself. So we will allocate further resources to build up our military strength. We will take additional steps to enhance military capabilities. Along with all these measures, of course, combat readiness and high morale must and will say their word on the battlefield.

I am very glad that Azerbaijani youths are patriotic and attached to their homeland. The heart of every Azerbaijani citizen is bleeding over Karabakh. This is our wound, and as long as it doesn’t heal, the Azerbaijani people can’t live in peace. I want to say again that the present realities, the processes unfolding in the region and the balance of power between Armenia and Azerbaijan increase our optimism. You are serving in these difficult mountain conditions, in a freezing cold weather, and this further enhances our optimism.

Now we will build and restore all our military camps. A special program has been adopted. Service conditions should be very good. Major funds will be envisaged for this purpose in the state budget for 2012. We are now building large military bases. In the Caspian basin we are constructing a major military base for the Navy. At the same time, all military units in our districts must build new modern camps, bases, the conditions for soldiers and officers must be good. Service here in the mountains, of course, has its difficulties. The enemy is a just kilometer away. You see them and they see you. But unlike the enemy, we are on our own land. They have captured our lands. We have no claims to the land of other states even though the current state of Armenia was established on historically Azerbaijani lands. On my advice our scientists have created wonderful books and researches about this history. In particular, the Erivan khanate is our ancient historical land. The Erivan khanate, Zangezur, Karabakh are our territories. From here, from your battle positions, we can see the Gulistan village. The same village of Gulistan where the treaty was signed. After that agreement and the treaty of Turkmenchay, the Armenians were resettled here en masse from the territory of contemporary Iran. In 1978, the Armenians themselves erected a monument in Nagorno-Karabakh to mark the 150th anniversary of their resettlement from Persia to Nagorno-Karabakh. If the Armenians claim that Nagorno-Karabakh is their historical land, then why did they mark the 150th anniversary of their resettlement to Nagorno-Karabakh in 1978? In other words, they acknowledged at that time that they came to our lands in 1828. After that, they started to gradually squeeze out the Azerbaijanis. In the 20th century, after the Bolshevik revolution, Nagorno-Karabakh was granted an autonomy within Azerbaijan. This was also a crime. It was a grave crime of the Bolshevik government against Azerbaijanis. There were no grounds for providing this territory the status of an autonomy because the vast majority of the population of this region were Azerbaijanis. By creating an autonomous region, they brought about this situation. Then, on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union, separatist trends in Nagorno-Karabakh were given the go-ahead. A special administration committee was set up. The serious crime of the former leadership of Azerbaijan lies in the fact that they agreed to that. The special administration committee effectively separated Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. A representative was delegated from Moscow and, of course, defended the position of the Armenians. What happened then is well known. But we will restore and are restoring justice.

Now, the independent state of Azerbaijan is treated with great respect and sympathy in the world. The number of our partners is growing, our international standing is strengthening. The world community trusts us. Late last year our country was elected a member of the UN Security Council. We were supported by 155 countries, while Armenia dropped out in a cowardly manner. They knew that they would not gain the support of even 10-20 countries. This shows our political clout.

We pay constant attention and allocate funds for the army. The military parades we conduct demonstrate our strength.

We have all the opportunities to restore our territorial integrity. This is clear to us, to the enemy and to the mediators.

There is one condition for peace: the Armenian occupying forces must get out of our lands of their own accord. Before it is too late.

I wish you further success in your service. I am sure you will, as ever, fulfill all your combat missions with honor and make effort for the restoration of our territorial integrity.