Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the opening of a residential settlement built for 552 IDP families

Good morning. My greetings to all of you!

Let me congratulate you on the opening of this beautiful settlement. It is a beautiful settlement, there are 552 houses, they are comfortable and beautiful, there is a school. The entire infrastructure is available: water, electricity and gas. In short, the establishment of this settlement is a great event. This is not our first meeting with the IDPs for the opening of new settlements. Such meetings take place every year, several beautiful settlements are built during the year. In general, 70 settlements have been established in recent years. As you know, there were tent camps in the past. In late 2007 they were eliminated. Instead, we built beautiful new settlements housing more than 100,000 internally displaced persons.

This excellent initiative was launched by great leader Heydar Aliyev. First allocations from the State Oil Fund established in Azerbaijan in the late 1990s were channeled into improving the living conditions of the IDPs. This policy continues today. Today, Azerbaijan has broader material possibilities. We have the opportunities to speed up this process.

Over the past few years we have built dozens of new settlements, thousands of people have moved into beautiful homes. A settlement for 556 houses is currently under construction in Agjabadi District. Today, I reviewed its construction. The IDPs will move in new houses probably early next year. According to the statistics I have been given, a total of $4 billion has been spent on improving the lives of the IDPs, of which $3.7 billion has been spent by the Azerbaijani state. These issues have been addressed both by the State Oil Fund and the state budget of Azerbaijan. In the coming years, namely starting from next year, even more funds will be allocated, so that we could also resolve the problems of the IDPs living in difficult conditions.

Of course, we first resolved the problems of those who lived in the worst conditions – tent camps have already been eliminated. At the current stage, we are resolving the problems of the IDPs settled in Finnish homes, schools, dormitories and in military units. You, too, used to live in Finnish homes, in difficult and harsh conditions. Now this settlement has been built. There are all the conditions for a normal life here. But this is a temporary settlement. After our lands are liberated from occupiers, even more beautiful settlements and villages will be established on all our lands that are currently under occupation, including Lachin.

We will do that. I am sure we will have the resources and the strength to do that. First of all, we must return our citizens to the lands currently under occupation. To do that, as you know, we are currently in talks, efforts are made. This is the most important issue facing the Azerbaijani state. Because our country is developing successfully in all the spheres now. No-one can emulate the successes Azerbaijan has achieved in the 20 years of independence. The economic development observed in Azerbaijan in recent years is unique in the world.

As long as we are in talks, not everything in the Karabakh issue depends on us. Negotiations have two sides: one is Azerbaijan, the other is Armenia. There is an international format of talks. The Minsk Group has been in operation for nearly 20 years. But there is no result.

Although the decisions and resolutions of all international organizations protect Azerbaijan’s fair cause, the issue remains unresolved. This is hampered by the Armenian lobby, Armenian patrons and those who support them. We can see that the Armenian lobby even influences the policies of some major states, seeking the adoption of decisions contrary to their own interests.

This is a fact. We are opposed not just by Armenia. Armenia is not a strong power for us. We are fighting against Armenians of the world and the hypocritical politicians who are managed by their dirty money. They fight against Azerbaijan every day. This is why the Minsk Group has existed for about 20 years, but without any result. To achieve a result there is no need for any huge steps. Suffice it to execute the resolutions of international organizations, the UN, its Security Council. The international community must demand that occupying forces withdraw from our lands and allow Azerbaijani citizens to return to their homes. The entire international community recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Nagorno-Karabakh is native Azerbaijani land, we all know that. International law also recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Why are these resolutions not executed? I repeat – as a result of the activities of world Armenians and the anti-Azerbaijani forces behind them, the issue is now in a frozen state. At the same time, I have repeatedly said that this conflict is not and can never be considered frozen. As long as our lands are under occupation, we will continue to strive to resolve it fairly and in our favor.

The path to a fair solution lies only through the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. The territorial integrity of our country must and will be restored. Azerbaijan must and will assert sovereignty over all occupied territories. I have no doubt about that. We simply want to resolve this issue as quickly as possible so that our IDPs could return to their native lands. Personally, I am absolutely convinced that we will restore our territorial integrity. There are many factors giving ground for that. I have repeatedly expressed my thoughts about it: our growing political clout and economic strength. Most importantly, we now have a proper military capacity, which we will further increase, we have a growing population. So the factors of regional geopolitics support us. Over the years, we will become even stronger, while Armenia will weaken further. As long as our lands are under occupation, we will fight Armenia on all fronts.

Dear friends, you are the residents of Lachin District. Lachin is one of Azerbaijan’s most beautiful corners. The people of Lachin have always been faithful to Azerbaijan, to the philosophy of Azerbaijanism. It remains the case today. The occupation of Lachin is a great tragedy not only for the people of Lachin, but for all of us. Because Lachin’s beautiful monuments have now been destroyed. Our religious monuments have been destroyed. The artifacts of our museums, our houses have been looted. The houses of the people of Lachin are now inhabited by the enemy. This is also a tragedy. The destruction of a house is a disaster, but if your house is inhabited by the enemy, it is an even bigger disaster. Because you know that your houses in the heart of Lachin District are now occupied by enemies. It is impossible to tolerate this situation and we won’t.

The occupation of Lachin resulted in the occupation of other districts. In May 1992, Shusha was occupied and a few days later Lachin. Then, in April 1993, Kalbajar was occupied too. Thus, a geographical link was established between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. It had never existed before.

Nagorno-Karabakh is historical and ancestral Azerbaijani territory located in the center of Azerbaijan. The lands around it, including Lachin, are part of Azerbaijan. Our territories that now belong to Armenia, the Erivan Khanate, were also inhabited by Azerbaijanis. The present-day Armenia was also Azerbaijani territory. We know that. This is confirmed by historical documents. Thus, the occupation of Lachin led to the occupation of other districts. I am absolutely convinced – I expressed my views on this during a conversation with a respected elder today – that if great leader Heydar Aliyev had been in power at the time, not an inch of our land would have been under enemy occupation. Our enemies knew this too. When Heydar Aliyev left Baku and went to work in Moscow, they launched a campaign against him. A campaign of slander, defamation and lies was unleashed by both Armenian nationalists and the anti-national forces here in Azerbaijan. A few days after Heydar Aliyev’s resignation from the Politburo, the Armenians raised the Karabakh issue, which led to war. Unfortunately, those who were in power in Azerbaijan at the time not only failed to justify people’s confidence, but also committed a crime. Now we are faced with this situation.

I want to reiterate that as long as this issue remains unresolved, the Azerbaijani people cannot live peacefully, we will not rest. We must resolve this issue fairly, in our favor. Azerbaijan is a multiethnic state. Azerbaijan has never had any standoffs on ethnic or religious grounds. The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh can and must live within the sovereign state of Azerbaijan. Armenians live in Azerbaijan now. No-one can say a word to them – they are our citizens. So Azerbaijan is a tolerant country. The people of Azerbaijan are a tolerant people.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved only on the basis of these principles. The territorial integrity of our country must be restored. All IDPs must return to their native lands, including Nagorno-Karabakh. Afterwards the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh will live together. The Azerbaijanis must return to Shusha and live there. We want to achieve this peacefully. If this is not possible, the Azerbaijani army will have its say at a required moment.

Dear friends, I salute you all again today. I want to repeat that this is only a temporary place of residence. But we want the conditions to be good, even temporarily. I think the conditions here are good. I appreciate the work of the State Committee for refugees and displaced persons. They are doing all this work with great professionalism and love. We always keep in touch, all these projects are duly reported on. I endorse all of the committee’s initiatives. Next year even more will be allocated for the construction of new settlements. The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan also does a great job in this area.

This shows again that the oil, which is a national asset, and the revenue received from it are at people’s disposal. This revenue is distributed fairly in Azerbaijan. The Oil Fund is an organization enjoying great reputation worldwide. The revenue of the State Oil Fund is growing. So, even more funds will be allocated for the construction of new settlements, of course. My greetings to you again, I wish you good health and every success!