President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Pope Francis, who is paying a papal visit to Azerbaijan, have made speeches in front of representatives of the general public at the Heydar Aliyev Center.

`Twenty percent of our lands have been occupied as a result of the armed aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan in early 1990s. More than a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs on their native lands as a result of this occupation and ethic cleansing,” said the president. “Our historic and native land Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts have been occupied by Armenia`, Azerbaijani President said in his speech.

“Innocent people were killed and a military crime – Khojaly genocide was committed against our people,” he said, adding that 613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children were killed in the city of Khojaly as a result of the genocide. All these atrocities committed by Armenians have been documented. There are video and photo materials and witness testimonies,” said President Aliyev.

The president pointed out that ten countries have recognized the Khojaly genocide.

“Our historical, religious monuments have been destroyed by Armenians on the occupied lands and there are facts to back it up. In connection with this, the OSCE has sent a fact-finding mission to the occupied territories twice and this is openly indicated in their reports,” he added.

“The entire infrastructure, the cities have been destroyed and graves have been razed to the ground. They have destroyed our graves with bulldozers. Our mosques have been destroyed,” said President Aliyev.

“There is an Armenian church in the center of Baku and we have restored that church. Currently, more than 5,000 books in Armenian language are kept in this church,” he said. “This is while they raze our mosques to the ground. This is the difference. That is why Azerbaijan is known as a center of multiculturalism in the world.”

Armenian fascism has caused a big disaster and innocent people still suffer from the Armenian policy. Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be solved within the framework of international law. Despite this problem, our country is developing confidently and we are growing stronger”, said the president.

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