For many years, from this rostrum, I have spoken about the tragedies of aggression, occupation, and injustice committed against Azerbaijan. Today, I will speak about our long path to victory and peace, a new era in Azerbaijan's history, how the occupation was ended through a liberation war, and how we are ensuring peace through political means.
The editorial office, citing APA, reports that these words were spoken by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during his address at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. The head of state noted that “the OSCE Minsk Group, established in 1992 for the resolution of the conflict, failed to fulfill its mission. Instead of ensuring the norms and principles of international law, its co-chairs tried to preserve the status quo and freeze the conflict.”
The President stated that “November 10, 2020, went down in history as Armenia's capitulation and the restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity after nearly 30 years of occupation.” He drew attention to the fact that negotiations conducted with Armenia solely in a bilateral format yielded positive results. He added that “one of the important outcomes of the Washington Summit is the ‘Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity’ (TRIPP), which will ensure unhindered passage through the Zangazur corridor and strengthen regional connections.”
The Azerbaijani President, calling the Washington Summit the beginning of a new stage in Azerbaijan-US relations, emphasized: “We jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments with President Donald Trump on the establishment of a Strategic Working Group for the purpose of preparing a Charter of Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States.” The head of state noted that this opens new horizons for partnership in many areas, including political, economic, energy, defense, and security.
President Ilham Aliyev also said: “President Trump’s decision to suspend the implementation of sanctions imposed against Azerbaijan in the form of the 907th amendment to the Freedom Support Act in 1992 is also a historic step.” He emphasized that the agreements reached during his visit to the US in August were of historical importance and expressed his gratitude to President Donald Trump for his support for the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process.
The head of state pointed to the mine threat as one of the main humanitarian problems in the post-conflict period, noting that since 2020, more than 400 Azerbaijanis have been killed or injured in mine explosions. He also noted that “by 2030, approximately 40 percent of our energy production will be provided by renewable sources.”
President Ilham Aliyev concluded his speech by stating that Azerbaijan ranks first in the world among countries supplying gas via pipelines.