President Aliyev dots the "i" in Armenian issue The outcome of a cabinet meeting

On April 12, under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev, a meeting devoted to the results of the first quarter of this year was held. During the meeting, the results of the work done, as well as the plans outlined until the end of the year were discussed. In general, the head of the state noted with appreciation the successful development in all spheres within the country's post-conflict goals and objectives. In addition, President Aliyev voiced a number of important political messages, which are of principal importance for Azerbaijan. And not only for Azerbaijan.

In particular, Ilham Aliyev drew attention to the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations in the current period, which assumes the settlement of problems related to the demarcation and delimitation of borders, the opening of transport communications in the region and as a consequence, the implementation of items specified in the trilateral statement of 2020, the signing of a peace agreement with Armenia. In this context, the President stressed the mediation initiatives of the European Union Council in Brussels. Ilham Aliyev cited two key facts in favor of Azerbaijan, noting that the final communiqué does not mention "Nagorno Karabakh," which is certainly consonant with the position of our country, and there is no "conflict" word.

Undoubtedly, these two facts demonstrate how the European Union accepts the current realities and, therefore, the factor of resolving the Karabakh issue in Azerbaijan. And this is a very positive and encouraging fact. On the other hand, the results of the recent meeting in Brussels showed that Armenia accepted the 5 basic principles of normalization of relations put forward by Azerbaijan. This fact was described by the President as Armenia's explicit recognition of our country's territorial integrity, the rejection of claims to the historical lands of Azerbaijan, and as the main condition for the normalization of bilateral relations. By the way, the Azerbaijani president's objective assessment was confirmed by the Armenian prime minister's speech from the rostrum of the National Assembly today, during which Pashinyan publicly admitted his guilt for the war and the need for a speedy conclusion of a peace treaty with Baku.

"Armenia recognizes the integrity of Azerbaijan, the issue of Karabakh's legal status is aimed at ensuring its security, and the Armenian government believes that Yerevan and Baku should conclude a peace agreement as soon as possible," Pashinyan said, noting that "surrendering Azerbaijani territories" might have been able to save thousands of lives, but by refusing to do so, he became guilty of thousands of victims. In fact, Pashinyan, in front of a domestic audience, confirmed his agreement with the five principles put forward by Baku.  But let us not go too far ahead. The phrase "the ice has broken" would have been appropriate to recall, had it not been for Yerevan's duplicity and treachery. Therefore, in the case of Armenia, it may prove to be premature.

But let us return to the important points made by the president. Once again, they related to Armenia. He touched upon possible armament supplies and loans to Armenia. According to him, if Armenia wasn't allotted much money for armament, Yerevan would "bow its head and come to an agreement" with Baku.

"If money is allocated for Armenia's armament, we will perceive it as an unfriendly step and react accordingly," Ilham Aliyev said, actually hinting at Armenia's closest ally, with whom we also have a corresponding document on a strategic alliance. We are sure that the hint will be heard and objectively perceived by those to whom it is addressed.

The President did not ignore the policy of the notorious double standards, which we faced during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, and which we have already seen in the example of Ukraine.

"We see it nowadays also in the war between Russia and Ukraine: when we used Bayraktar drones to liberate our lands during the Second Karabakh War, foreign experts and media called these UAVs "deadly weapons", and now during the Russian-Ukrainian war they call the same drones "angels". This is what double standards mean, this is what injustice means with respect to us and this is the reality," said President Aliyev, stating this fact as obvious.

In his opening speech, the President once again touched upon the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group, stressing its inefficiency in resolving the long-standing Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

"Azerbaijan itself has solved this conflict militarily and politically, and the mandate given to the Minsk Group to resolve the conflict de jure can be considered invalid de facto," Ilham Aliyev said. By the way, the fact of the end of the OSCE MG was recognized by Russia through its Foreign Minister, as well as Europe, ruining the illusions of Armenians on the revival of the "dead" structure and its further involvement in the further negotiation process.

There are some more serious issues to which the president drew attention. According to him, along with the tasks aimed at the restoration and development of the Karabakh region, Azerbaijan will continue to pay serious attention to the military sphere and army building, and the purchase of new types of weapons and equipment.

"A new kind of troops was created after the war - a commando, I personally participated in the opening of the first commando military base in Hadrut. It is a very strong branch of the military. I am sure that nowadays this kind of troop can already accomplish any task. Every year we will increase the number of commandos, and everyone must know that thousands of fully trained fighters are already prepared and will be prepared," said the President, noting that the Azerbaijanis must never forget the occupation and Armenian vandalism. We must not forget that today Azerbaijan is strong and Armenia is weak.

"We live in a real dimension and we must never forget the policy of ethnic cleansing that was carried out against us by Armenia in the early 1990s, the Khojaly genocide, the occupation. This should always remain in the memory of Azerbaijanis. As responsible people, we must always be ready for anything," the President said, putting the right emphasis on the fact that Azerbaijan must always keep its powder dry in the case of Armenia.

The President also stressed the importance of Azerbaijan's successful cooperation with leading international organizations, recognizing the country's territorial integrity on the example of the United Nations. He noted that after joining the UN at a time when Azerbaijan was facing occupation, the UN, its Security Council adopted fair resolutions.

"Unfortunately, these resolutions remained on paper for almost 30 years. However, the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, its unilateral settlement by Azerbaijan has simultaneously relieved the UN of this burden. The second-largest international institution after the UN is the Non-Aligned Movement, which is currently chaired by Azerbaijan, and with the consent and support of all member states our chairmanship was extended for another year, which is a sign of confidence in Azerbaijan," Ilham Aliyev said, stressing that the international organization showed solidarity with Azerbaijan before the war, during the occupation, during the war and after it.

It was noted that another major international organization is the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, at the level of which fair resolutions reflecting the position of Azerbaijan have been adopted many times, and during the post-conflict period, the leaders of the organization have made visits to the liberated lands.

Summarizing the speech by the head of the state, the following conclusions are obvious.

Firstly, Azerbaijan has secured Armenia's recognition of its territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, and its acceptance of five basic principles that fully reflect our state's interests in international law.

Secondly, Azerbaijan's condition regarding the normalization of relations with Armenia has been supported by the mediators of the negotiation process, in particular Europe, and this is an obvious success of Baku's foreign policy.

Third, Azerbaijan will continue to build up its military potential and enhance its defense power, and it does not tolerate any further arming of Armenia by third countries, since it views such actions as a threat to stability and security of the region. It is no secret that Armenia has exhausted the credit of trust as a neighbor. However, today, Yerevan has an opportunity to build normal relations with Baku and get out of the years-long crisis. It remains to be seen whether Armenia is really ready for such a turnaround - not in words, but in deeds.