Azerbaijan is going to mark the 25th anniversary of its independence. In the first years of the independence, Azerbaijan faced with the Armenian terror and occupation. The conflict still remains unsolved, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

The president made the remarks in the opening of the 4th Baku Global Forum on March 10.

The head of state said in case that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that is solved, nearly one million refugees and displaced persons will return to their native lands.

“As long as Armenia continues the occupation, it isolates itself further. As a result, poverty is growing in Armenia,” he added.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a native land of Azerbaijan, and all states and international organizations recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan, President Aliyev noted.

“20 percent of Azerbaijani lands are under occupation. The UN Security Council resolutions require withdrawal of occupying forces from our lands. The mechanism of the implementation of UNSC resolutions should be the subject of discussion. Some USCN resolutions are fulfilled in a few minutes, hours, but when it comes to Azerbaijan, the situation is different,” said the president.

Armenia is trying to maintain the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the president said, stressing the inadmissibility of the status quo.

“The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs also stated that the status quo must be changed. Thus, Armenia should withdraw its armed forces from the occupied territories. It is unacceptable to keep the territories of a neighboring country under occupation in the 21st century. After liberation of the occupied territories, Azerbaijan can gain greater economic success. The UN Security Council must force Armenia to fulfill the resolutions and put an end to occupation. Our mosques and historical monuments were destroyed in the occupied territories. The OSCE fact-finding mission has also confirmed it during both visits to the region. Today, we are also witnessing the destruction of historical monuments in the Middle East. However, the destruction of Azerbaijani historical monuments was not prevented earlier,” said the president.

More about: