Azeri leader vows to liberate Armenian-occupied territories

Trend news agency
26 May 06


Baku, 26 May, Trend correspondent R. Abdullayev: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made a speech on 26 May in Baku at an official ceremony to mark Azerbaijan's national holiday - the Day of the Republic, Trend reports.

The head of state highly rated the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan in 1918 and stressed the historical role of the founders of Azerbaijan's statehood.

Touching on developments that unfolded in Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union and on the threat of the repeat collapse of national statehood, Ilham Aliyev pointed out that statehood was preserved owing to the efforts of ex-President Heydar Aliyev.

The president pointed out that in the following period, Azerbaijan became the most dynamically developing country, which was a direct result of the successful policy of political-economic reforms carried out by the republic's leadership.

He said that Azerbaijan is strengthening its positions not only on the regional, but also on the world scale. "Azerbaijan is implementing an economic concept that aims to increase the welfare of the country's population," Ilham Aliyev said.

The head of state also touched on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and stressed that Azerbaijan is in favour of a peaceful solution to the problem. He said that if Armenia's nonconstructive position leads to a deadlock in the negotiating process, "Azerbaijan should resolve the problem with its own forces".

President Aliyev clearly said that "Azerbaijan will not allow a second Armenian state to be created on its territory" and added that "all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan should be liberated without any conditions".