Azerbaijan is a tolerant and a secular country and will continue to be like that in the future.

On October 24, 2020, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev gave interview to French “Le Figaro” newspaper and said in an interview that Armenia launched a military attack against Azerbaijan on September 27. In the first hours of this military attack there were victims, among civilians and military servicemen. This was the 3rd military provocation by Armenia against Azerbaijan, within 3 months. They wanted to take control over the strategic energy infrastructure which located several kilometers from our state border with Armenia. The Southern Gas Corridor project is not only a project of energy security of Azerbaijan but also of Europe. One of the goals of Armenia was to take control of those pipelines and to blackmail Azerbaijan and European consumers. Political goals of Armenia, which they pursued launching the attack, was to keep the status quo unchanged, to put the blame for this escalation on Azerbaijan, to disrupt negotiations completely, and to involve third countries and to internationalize the conflict. But as a result of a successful counter-attack, Armenia was defeated on the battlefield and they had to run away. This demonstrates the high level of capacity, capability of Azerbaijani Army. The liberated villages and cities every day encourage the Azerbaijani Army and its people. 130 km of international border with Iran is completely under control of the Azerbaijani Army. Therefore, there will be no more inconvenience for our brothers across the river of Araz. Russia, France and United States as the Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group continue to mediate and try to help parties to find the solution for 28 years. These three countries are also members of the UN Security Council. They adopted those resolutions which Azerbaijan referred to, which demand withdrawal of Armenian troops, but unfortunately, they did not put enough international pressure on Armenia to liberate the occupied territories and to comply with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. A humanitarian ceasefire was declared by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries on October 10 and 17 in Moscow after the last conflict occurred. But unfortunately, Armenia brutally violated ceasefire and shelled a ballistic missile on Ganja at midnight on October 10 within a few hours after ceasefire agreement. On the 17th of October they violated ceasefire 2 minutes after ceasefire was efficient and civilians were killed. Therefore, after the Armenian military attack, Azerbaijan had to defend itself, and had to restore justice by force. If Armenia publicly commits to the basic principles elaborated by France, Russia and the United States which Azerbaijan is committed to, then, conflict will stop and both sides will go back on negotiation table. Armenian government should understand that status quo no more exists, line of contact no more exists. The Azerbaijani Army created a new reality on the ground and they have to take that into account. However, Armenian government doesn’t abjure its terror acts and intends to condemn Azerbaijan for this conflict spreading different fake news to the world media. In response to such fake news Ilham Aliyev stated: “Turkey was never involved in the conflict. Turkish F-16 fighters are here because they were participating in the joint military training just before the clashes started. And they are on the ground. They are not in the air. Armenian SU-25 hit the mountain. They tried to pretend as if it was hit by the Turkish F-16. Generally, there are no foreign fighters on Azerbaijani side. This is fake news. It was spread by some officials of some countries. But so far, more than 20 days after the clashes started neither France nor Russia didn’t submit any single evidence. No evidences, no proofs. And another thing is that Azerbaijan doesn’t need any foreigners to fight with us. Because Azerbaijan has a regular army of 100 thousand people, modern equipment, motivated people who were suffering from occupation for 30 years. Even full mobilization was not announced. If Azerbaijan needs additional people on the ground it will recruit more”. From the first hours of Armenian attack on Azerbaijan Turkey, Turkish president and other high-ranking officials express their support to Azerbaijan and norms and principles of international law. But this is just moral support of brotherly Turkey to Azerbaijani people. Relations with Turkey have a great history but even brighter future. Turkey was never involved in the conflict between two countries. Azerbaijan won on the battlefield thanks to modern weapons and equipment. Turkey as a country which is the only country in the world having a border with all the three countries of Southern Caucasus- Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, has a legitimate right to be involved in this process. I am sure that Turkey will play an important role on providing stability and predictability for the region after the war with Armenia stops and political settlement is enforced. Azerbaijan is a secular country. According to the constitution, religion is separated from the state. Religions of all other nationalities living in Azerbaijan are respected. The best indicator of religious harmony in Azerbaijan would be the words of His Holiness, head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Francis. When he was in Baku several years ago, he made a public statement highly praising Azerbaijan’s role in intercultural and interreligious dialogue. All the representatives of different religions in Azerbaijan live in peace and harmony, including Armenians. In the center of Baku, there is an Armenian church which has been restored and protected by the government. So, Azerbaijan is a tolerant and a secular country and will continue to be like that in the future. Azerbaijani people see Karabakh as a prosperous, safe, secure area of Azerbaijan where people live in peace and dignity, where Azerbaijani and Armenian communities live side by side. Karabakh is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!