Azerbaijani minister expressed gratitude on behalf of my Government and people of Azerbaijan to our Organization and its member states for full support to the just position of Azerbaijan with regard to the aggression of the Republic of Armenia against Republic of Azerbaijan, which resulted with 20% of Azerbaijani lands under occupation with notorious ethnic cleansing of 1 million Azerbaijanis from the places of their origin:
“The Republic of Azerbaijan once again underlines that it shall never reconcile with the occupation of its territories. The resolution of the conflict is possible only on the basis of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders. In this regards, we also welcome the report of the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on the aggression of the Republic of Armenia against Republic of Azerbaijan, which was held here in the UN headquarters on September 19, 2017.
The statements and warmongering rhetoric of political-military leadership of Armenia and the attempts to boycott and precondition the substantive negotiations indicate the apparent unwillingness of the Armenia to engage constructively for the settlement of conflict. As you know, this year we marked the 25th anniversary of Khojaly Genocide with a heavy heart. Over the night of the 25 to 26 February 1992, following massive artillery bombardment of Khojaly, the assault on the town began from various directions. As a result of which, the armed forces of Armenia, with the help of the infantry guards regiment No.366 of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), implemented the seizure of Khojaly. Invaders destroyed Khojaly and with the particular brutality implemented carnage over its peaceful population. As a result, 613 civilians were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly. Another 1000 people were wounded and 1275 taken hostage. To this day, 150 people from Khojaly remain missing.
Taking the opportunity I would like once again to express my gratitude to the Secretary General of OIC Mr. Yusef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen and the member states for the fair position and support in the adoption of the resolutions entitled “The aggression of the Republic of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan”, “On the solidarity with the victims of the Khojaly massacre of 1992”, “Destruction of monuments belonging to Islamic history and culture in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan as a result of Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan” and other documents within the 44th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC passed on July 10- 11, 2017 in Abidjan. ”
Mammadyarov noted that 2017 was declared as Year of Islamic Solidarity by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: “This Year has been a successful year for us in regard of the reinforcing of the Islamic solidarity. We were very glad to host OIC Secretary General and other high representatives of member states in the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue and 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku. We were honored and hoping that all our efforts will help to reinforce the bonds of unity, amity and fraternity between Muslims."
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