President Aliyev: “No need to protect Armenia from Azerbaijan”

President Ilham Aliyev has stated that Azerbaijan never pursued objectives aimed at undermining Armenia’s statehood or independence, emphasizing that the country’s goals in the post-conflict period were fully achieved.

“We had no intention of destroying Armenia or depriving it of its independence,” President Aliyev said during a meeting with residents in the city of Zangilan, Caliber.Az reports, citing the state media.

“Today, Europe’s so-called observers are still supposedly monitoring the Azerbaijan-Armenia border. I said it then as well: if we fired a single shot, they would flee immediately, and not even a trace of them would remain there. Yet they portray themselves as if they are protecting Armenia from us. There is no need to protect Armenia from us. We have achieved what we set out to achieve,” the Azerbaijani leader added.

President Ilham Aliyev also drew attention to the extensive environmental and infrastructural damage inflicted during the years of occupation, particularly in the liberated districts, including the large-scale destruction of forest resources.

“In total, 60,000 hectares of our forest fund were destroyed by the savage occupiers. Most of the destruction occurred in the Kalbajar and Lachin districts, but Zangilan also suffered,” President Ilham Aliyev said.

He further underlined that lingering hostility within segments of Armenian society continues to be a factor requiring vigilance, while reiterating that Azerbaijan did not direct its actions against the Armenian population.

“The Azerbaijani people caused no harm to the Armenian people. The reasons behind such hatred toward us should perhaps be studied by psychiatrists, psychologists, and doctors. As long as political forces in Armenian society continue to live with hatred toward Azerbaijan, we must remain vigilant,” the president noted.

By Jeyhun Aghazada