On September 14, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with residents of the Girmizi Bazar and Hadrut settlements, as well as Sos village, in the Khojavend district.

The head of state spoke with the residents, who greeted him warmly.

President Ilham Aliyev said:

We are truly living through historic days. I sincerely congratulate you. You have already settled in your native Karabakh land. Residents from several villages have gathered here today. I visited several villages earlier today, and this will continue tomorrow. All of Karabakh is now fully under our control, and, as you know, this territory was liberated from the occupiers two years ago. During these very days – on September 19 – 20, our glorious Army put an end to separatism. With that, the chapter of separatism was closed, and Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty. The “Great Return” Program is also being successfully implemented. In about two months, we will celebrate the fifth anniversary of our historic Victory.

The past five years have been a history of triumph – our glorious history – and I am delighted that you have returned and settled in your ancestral homeland. Conditions have been created for you here: houses have been built and repaired. All necessary amenities are available – water, gas, electricity, heating, schools, medical facilities, and roads. Most importantly, this is our native Karabakh land. These are places of splendid natural beauty, surrounded by mountains, forests, springs, and abundant water. All conditions are in place here to live comfortably, to build and create, to raise children, and to provide them with a proper upbringing. From now on, the Azerbaijani people will live in peace. However, to live in peace, strength was, of course, necessary.

May Allah have mercy on all our martyrs. You know that for many years we worked to resolve the Karabakh conflict peacefully. But the Armenian side and those backing them had other intentions. They had no intention of returning our lands. They, along with their supporters — including leaders of major powers — encouraged this approach, as though the occupation could be made permanent. But they failed to take one thing into account: the will, strength, and dedication of the Azerbaijani people to their homeland, the bravery and heroism of the Azerbaijani military, and the unity of our people. They failed to understand that. If the Armenian leadership had heeded my words in time and left our lands voluntarily, there would have been no need for the Second Karabakh War or the anti-terrorist operation, and we would not have lost more than three thousand martyrs.

May Allah grant them eternal peace. Sacrificing one’s life for the homeland is undoubtedly a great act of heroism, and we will forever honor their memory and show eternal respect for it.

Today, we are gathered in this beautiful land of Karabakh. The main reason for this is the unity of our people and the patriotic upbringing of our younger generation. We have proven to the entire world that we are a strong and determined nation. We achieved victory on the battlefield, and we were always ready for peace. However, peace had to be fair, based on international law and historical justice. The history of the past five years has shown that no external force could sway our will. The events of September 2023 and the anti-terror operation once again demonstrated that no one can stand in our way. Because our cause is just, we fought for our own land. We have no claims against the territories of other countries, but we have never compromised even an inch of our own land – and we have proven this.

Today, the entire world rightfully recognizes the Azerbaijani people as a victorious nation. Within 44 days of war and a single day of anti-terrorist operations, no nation in the past 80 years has secured such a complete, absolute, and just victory. We take pride in this. Just as we fought and triumphed in war, we are now building and creating in times of peace. The Armenians left our lands in ruins. They razed the villages and cities where you lived to the ground. They lived in conditions that no self-respecting person would ever accept. But look at what we have accomplished in just five years – cities, villages, bridges, tunnels, water reservoirs, and power stations have been built. The scale of construction happening here in Karabakh and Zangezur is unmatched anywhere in the world. The most important thing is that the Azerbaijani people now live comfortably, happily, and in peace.

I congratulate you.

https://president.az/en/articles/view/70078