President: Azerbaijan to avert any threat to security [UPDATE]

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan will avert any threat to the country’s security.

He made the remarks during the interview with local TV channels on January 12.

“We are closely following all military-building efforts in Armenia both with their own forces and with the help of their partners. Therefore, I have sincerely and openly stated that if we see even the slightest threat to our security, we will immediately crush it no matter where it is and no matter how deep it is in the territory of Armenia,” he said.

Noting that there are strong revanchist sentiments in Armenia, both in the government and in the opposition, as well as in society, the president recalled another military provocation committed against Azerbaijani servicemen on January 11. He noted that as a result of this baseless aggression, an Azerbaijani serviceman was killed.

Aliyev said that the Azerbaijani armed forces have taken decisive measures to punish the criminals, and today, according to the information from Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov, six to eight enemy servicemen were killed and many others were wounded.

“Shortly after this incident, the Armenian side began to insistently request a ceasefire. However, they must understand that the death of Azerbaijani servicemen will never be forgiven,” he said.

Underlined that Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated humanism, the president recalled that he “ordered the defence minister at 2130 [on January 11] to ceasefire and let the Armenian side collect their numerous wounded servicemen”.

The president also added that the improvement of the country’s special forces, as well as the creation of a new special force, is a necessity dictated by the situation.

“As a result of the measures we are taking, the Azerbaijani armed forces will become even stronger than they were during the second Karabakh war,” he said.

Peacekeepers

Noting the work of peacekeepers, the president stated that they are performing an important function now. He added that they accompany the sending and transportation of both the servicemen and cargo to liberated Kalbajar and Lachin regions.

“I can say in principle that I am positive about their overall activities,” he said.

Touching upon the issues of concern, Aliyev said that several claims were made officially to Russia regarding illegal visits.

Speaking about the recent illegal visit of French presidential candidate Valerie Pecresse, he stated that “we were told that they did not see it, did not know of it, that it fell out of focus, that she went there in an ordinary car, and so on”.

However, the president stressed that it was an organized trip, as Valerie Pecresse could not go there with the escort she wanted and went with a very limited number of people.

“They went there secretly and returned. When they returned, the news came that they were probably afraid that we would have stopped them in the Lachin corridor. Because if we knew they were there, we wouldn't have let them back, unequivocally. The Lachin corridor is under our control. You have been to Shusha and seen it,” he said.

Aliyev mentioned that representatives of Armenia visiting Karabakh, apply to the peacekeeping mission regarding the visit of foreign citizens, which is either allowed or not allowed.

As for another issue of concern, the president stated that the number of arrivals to Karabakh, Khankendi, and other places controlled by the Russian peacekeeping forces is very different from the number of departures.

He noted that 91 percent of arriving vehicles and 46 percent of departing vehicles are not checked.

“It shows that Russian peacekeeping forces are trying to make the entrance easy and create certain problems for those leaving. In other words, they stop cars, question them and so on. So they want people not to leave. This cannot be a coincidence. There cannot be such a difference. We know the number of cars and people, we know how many people have entered and how many have left, and this is not acceptable,” he said.

The president noted that there are now 27,000 people living in the territory controlled by Russian peacekeepers.

“With the exception of these two issues, in general, I repeat, I have a good assessment of their mission,” he said.

OSCE Minsk Group

Speaking about the OSCE Minsk Group, Aliyev stated that they should not deal with the Karabakh conflict, because it has been resolved.

“I think this is the reason for their absence. Because no matter how difficult it is for them, they must accept this new reality. They should know that they will no longer deal with the Karabakh issue. Because we will not allow it,” he said.

Speaking about the behavior of three co-chairs, he recalled that Russia was completely neutral from a political point of view during the war period.

“The Trump administration in the United States did not intend to deal with this issue at all. Since the war took place in the last months of the Trump administration, we did not see any position from the American side,” he said.

Noting that the EU held phone conversations with both Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership, Aliyev recalled that France unequivocally supported Armenia’s position.

“It made baseless accusations against Azerbaijan, and, of course, the recognition of the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” by both houses of parliament is a major blow to French-Azerbaijani relations,” he said.

Aliyev underlined that now France also accepted the results of the war, recalling that the last month a trilateral meeting was held in Brussels at the initiative of President Macron.

“This meeting was also important for French-Azerbaijani relations. Because we have clarified many issues with President Macron. I think there are opportunities out there to return to the format of normal relations,” he said.

“At the same time, at the international level, as they now say, France understands that it has made a mistake and has not achieved anything. By its steps during and after the way, it simply lost the confidence of the Azerbaijani public. As a result, the Armenian government has shown them such ingratitude. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan continues to move forward. Therefore, we welcome the steps France has taken to normalize relations,” he added.