President Aliyev: Armenia has not yet fully withdrawn troops from Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that Armenia has not yet fully withdrawn its troops from the territory of Azerbaijan.

He made the remarks at the extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Turkic States in Ankara, Azertac reports.

Although Armenia recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty in Prague and Sochi in 2022, it has not yet fully withdrawn its troops from the territory of Azerbaijan. Illegal Armenian detachments and criminal elements still remain in Karabakh, he said.

“Armenia also evades the obligation to open the Zangazur corridor. Therefore, Armenia flagrantly violates the [trilateral] statement signed on November 10, 2020, and should be held accountable,” the head of state noted.

Speaking about the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye, he said that the government and people of Azerbaijan were mobilized to provide humanitarian aid to the brotherly country.

“940 people from Azerbaijan, including rescue workers, medical personnel and volunteers, were dispatched to the earthquake region. Azerbaijan topped the list of countries worldwide for the number of rescuers sent to Türkiye. Thanks to the efforts of our rescue workers and doctors, 53 people were saved from under the rubble. Also, the bodies of 780 people were found. Our medical personnel provided medical assistance to more than 3,000 people,” the head of state emphasized.

“To date, more than$ 45 million dollars have been transferred into the bank accounts of AFAD and other humanitarian organizations. In addition, 5,300 tons of humanitarian aid was delivered to brotherly Türkiye,” the president said.

Aliyev added that Azerbaijan and Türkiye have always stood by each other and that this will continue to be the case in the future too.

“The political, diplomatic and moral support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Azerbaijan from the first hours of the Second Karabakh War to the last day in 2020 gave us extra strength. In the meantime, during the 44-day war, the entire Turkish people stood with Azerbaijan. Thousands of support and congratulatory messages from Türkiye came both during the war and after our historic Victory,” the head of state underlined.

“In June 2021, the Shusha Declaration between Türkiye and Azerbaijan was signed in the city of Shusha, the crown jewel of Karabakh, and our relations were officially raised to the level of an alliance...In the last 20 years, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Türkiye has covered a tremendous and glorious path, Türkiye has gained a say in the whole world, and has become a powerhouse. Today, Türkiye is reckoned with and respected all over the globe,” Aliyev said.

He added that “everyone in the world now sees Türkiye's military power and tremendous successes in the defence industry. Thanks to the leadership of my dear brother, continuous stability in Türkiye over these years and the country's development are essential for the entire Turkic world,” the head of state added.

The Azerbaijani leader also said that Turkish companies are actively involved in the reconstruction process in liberated lands: “We have started implementing the “Great Return” program to return former internally displaced persons to their homelands. Turkish companies are actively involved in many infrastructure projects as contractors in the reconstruction process.”

The head of state noted that contracts worth more than $3 billion had been signed with Turkish companies to date. He pointed out that the President of Türkiye had visited the liberated lands three times including Shusha, Fuzuli, Zangilan and Jabrayil.

President Aliyev also thanked Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for the school being built by Uzbekistan and the creative centre under construction by Kazakhstan in the liberated Fuzuli district.