The president made the remarks in his address to the participants of the Global Media Forum on “New Media in Fourth Industrial Revolution Era” in Shusha on July 21, Azertag reports.
According to the president, after the liberation of Azerbaijan’s territories, there have been no potential threats to the country.
“Because, first of all, there are no internally generated threats. The country is stable. The level of solidarity among Azerbaijanis is high as never before. The country’s economic development is very impressive. Azerbaijan’s economy is self-sufficient and based on our own resources and good management,” the Azerbaijani president added.
According to the president, the oldest threat Azerbaijan had before was a threat coming from Armenia from its occupational policy.
“And that threat was here around, including in this particular place for almost 30 years. Now this threat, in general, have been managed. But of course, we must be on alert. We should not forget our past,” the president underlined.
“We should not forget that we were stabbed in the back by our neighbours when we did not expect that in the beginning of 90s. And they took advantage of chaos and disorganization of the Azerbaijani Government and occupied our territories. Also, we should not forget that even now, despite the results of the Second Karabakh War, there are people in Armenia in different segments including government and in other parts of society, which live with revanchist ideas, and they do not hide it,” he noted.
Besides, the Azerbaijani president stated that the country must be ready for any kind of scenario.
“And for that purpose, right after the Second Karabakh War, despite the glorious victory, courage and spirit we demonstrated on the battlefield, we started immediately deepening reforms in the defence area. I can tell you and I already publicly spoke about that today, our army is much stronger than three years ago. This is a need, I think, which is based on our history. And also based on that, we see that international law norms are being violated brutally. And now, we see that international law is working selectively. We have faced that for many years, when we were raising our voice saying that, look, the United Nations Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding withdrawal of Armenian troops from our lands – immediate and unconditional withdrawal. But these resolutions were not implemented. So, now this tendency is spreading around. When international law doesn’t work, when signature does not mean a lot, the only guarantee for peace is strength,” the head of state stressed.
The president also emphasised the need to stabilise the situation in the South Caucasus.
“We need to have sustainable peace and security for the future. And the role of Türkiye in global affairs and in particular, in our region, of course, is a role of very important stabiliser,” he said.
“Policy of Türkiye aimed at regional security and regional development is highly appreciated in Azerbaijan and not only in Azerbaijan,” the head of state emphasised.
The president also highlighted the relations with Türkiye, noting that they are based on long-lasting friendship and brotherly ties.
“Our personal friendship with President Erdogan, I think, is known now not only to the regional community but also to the world. And this is a really important factor of regional development and regional stability,” he pointed out.
According to the president, after the victory in the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan and Türkiye formalised their relationship, which, actually, de facto were relations between allies.
“This is really a big asset for our nations, for our peoples. This declaration actually opens new horizons in front of us, though, even before that Azerbaijan and Türkiye in many areas demonstrated unity, solidarity, and mutual support,” the head of state emphasised.
Furthermore, President Aliyev stressed that Shusha is officially a cultural capital of Azerbaijan.
“But at the same time, Shusha is a symbol of our victory and also a symbol of peace, because after Shusha was liberated, the Second Karabakh War stopped. Shusha is a symbol of our courage,” Aliyev said.
“Shusha already hosted several international events, including ‘Kharibulbul’ International Music Festival, Vagif Poetry Days, several international sporting events and now Global Media Forum. So, the city kept its identity despite the fact that it was very deliberately destroyed during the time of occupation,” the head of state added.
The Global Media Forum held, at the direction of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as part of the Heydar Aliyev Year and on the occasion of the 148th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Press brought together 150 participants from 49 countries including state news agencies from 34 countries, 12 international and media organisations. Moreover, the forum is attended by 60 local media heads and representatives.
It is the first time that the city of Shusha has brought together heads of the world’s leading media, journalist organisations, media and communication experts and renowned journalists.
Caliber.Az
