The Nagorno Karabakh conflict became one of the most tragic conflicts in the history of the twentieth century and affected the destiny of millions. This conflict, started in 1988, still retains its hostilities because the Armenian side believes that the conflict is an antagonistic one and runs by its own “all or nothing”rule. The open aggression and war campaign of Armenia and separatists of the Autonomous District of Upper Karabakh began in the early 1990s. The Republican Organizing Committee for the Autonomous District of Upper Karabakh, created originally by the decree of the Supreme Soviet of USSR, was helpless – in retrospect,obviously – because it was linked to the weakening possibilities of the overall Union’s system, which was objectively interested in self-survival. Nevertheless, starting from January 25, 1990, the Organizing Committee has strived in its every step to be the political, legal and psychological basis of the Autonomous District of Upper Karabakh by helping to rid the population of feelings of ethnic intolerance. Its activities became definitely idle in the aftermath of the August events of 1991 which have completely discredited the all Union’s Statehood. Hypocrisy and duplicity of the Gorbachev’s policy were seen as the elements “to build” a new political reality. It was far from promising any prospect of relief to the Azerbaijani nation. In September 2, 1991, “The Nagorno Karabakh Republic” (NKR) was declared within the boundaries of the NKAO and the Shaumyan region of the Azerbaijani SSR. As a retaliatory measure, Azerbaijan took the decision on November 23, 1991 which repealed the autonomous status of Nagorno Karabakh.

But, in November 27, 1991, the latest creation of Gorbachev – so-called “The State Council of USSR” - deemed this decision of Azerbaijan as the anti-Constitutional. In December 10, 1991, the referendum masterminded earlier was held in “NKR” to vote for the independence of the Armenian community. The Independence Declaration of the mono-ethnic “Nagorno Karabakh Republic” was adopted on January 6, 1992. After having adopted these decisions, the Armenian separatists provoked the transition from cold war to full-scale military operations accompanied by the mass perishing of absolutely innocent Azerbaijanis and Armenians who became the hostages of the Yerevan aggressive aspirations.

During the military campaign of 1992 and 1993, Armenia occupied 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territory. “As an outcome of the war, more than one million people have been subject to ethnic cleansing by Armenia”. Mr.Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan has underlined the following: “The occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries – our territorial integrity is recognized by the United Nations… has lacked the necessary attention of the international community… All of these facts are the still evident injustice which has lasted for long years”.

In 1993, the Azerbaijani nation experienced the need to build a strong foundation for the State, to develop the human potential of high-quality professional staff with jobs for life, and in particular, a creative leader. The country was lucky: all of this was within reach. In order to attain this level, there was a need for the will of people which Aristotle used to call `Entelechy` – to transit from the potential into the factual.

Heydar Aliyev’s comeback on June 15, 1993 has turned a new page in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In 1993, Heydar Aliyev paved the way towards a new Azerbaijani Statehood. In this context, the Nagorno Karabakh problem has been considered only through the following prism: “The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is not and will never be the topic of negotiations… Azerbaijan will not retreat from this position in any single step. This means that in territorial integrity of Azerbaijan … there will be no compromise”. These words reflect the continuation of the political course of Heydar Aliyev realized by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In 1993, Heydar Aliyev faced the very grave consequences caused by objective and subjective reasons. He concluded that the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem required a synthetic approach and the necessary consideration of many factors in internal and external policies. In particular, it meant the beginning of the formation of the regular strong army, the creation of stable authorities, the restoration and reformation of the economy, the signature of oil contracts and definitely, the consolidation of the nation. Heydar Aliyev used to say: “I needed two and a half years to establish order”. In 1993-1994, he acknowledged that he used “to spend 80 percent of his long working day” to solve this problem.

On May 5, 1994, the Bishkek Protocol on a ceasefire was signed. As a result of the Armenian aggression, the following seven regions have fallen under the occupation: Kelbajar; Lachin; Kubatly; Zanghilan; Agdam; and Fizuli. Almost one million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons.

The escalation of the armed conflict in 1993 brought the UN Security Council to the decision to adopt 4 resolutions in 1993: April 30, July 29, October 14 and November 12, 1993. These resolutions confirm the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and use the following wording: “The Nagorno Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan” which is incorporated into the texts of UN General Assembly annual resolutions “On Co-operation between the Organization of the United Nations and the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe

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