BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 17. The
Azerbaijani Army launched a counter-offensive operation, later
called the "Iron Fist," on September 27, 2020, in response to the
large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the
frontline.The 44-day second Karabakh war ended with the liberation
of Azerbaijan’s territories from nearly 30-year Armenian occupation
and the restoration of territorial integrity.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has
addressed the nation.
Trend presents
the address.
Nationwide address of President Ilham Aliyev: Dear fellow
compatriots!
Today, the fascist leadership of Armenia committed yet another
war crime. The cities of Ganja and Mingachevir came under rocket
fire. As a result of this cowardly shelling, our compatriots have
been killed and wounded. May Allah rest all our martyrs in peace
and send healing to our wounded compatriots!
This once again shows the fascist nature of the Armenian
leadership. This is not the first time our cities have come under
fire. Armenia fires on Tartar, Aghdam, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, and
other cities practically every day. As a result of this fire, our
citizens have been killed and wounded, and more than 2,000 houses
have been destroyed or seriously damaged. However, these cowardly
actions cannot break the will of the Azerbaijani people.
Armenian leadership is committing a war crime. Shooting at
civilians, including firing missiles, is a war crime, and they must
and will bear responsibility for this crime. We are giving their
answer on the battlefield. We are avenging and will continue to
avenge the deaths of our martyrs and innocent civilians on the
battlefield. We have never fought or will ever wage a war against
the civilian population. We are not Armenians. We have our own way,
we have our own cause, and all the Azerbaijani people are united
around this cause. All the Azerbaijani people are showing
solidarity and patriotism.
The victorious Azerbaijani Army is driving and will continue to
drive the enemies away from our lands in the ongoing battles. I
said that if they do not leave our lands of their own free will, we
will chase them away like dogs, and we are doing that. Every day,
the victorious Azerbaijani Army liberates new strategic locations,
new heights, and new settlements from the occupiers. Our revenge
takes place on the battlefield.
These days, from 27 September to the present, a crushing blow
has been dealt to Armenia's military potential. I just want to
bring some figures to the attention of our citizens. I must say
that the list I will provide is incomplete. An even larger amount
of enemy equipment has been destroyed, and, of course, it is
impossible to calculate it accurately during the battle. However,
the figures I will quote show explicitly that we have gained a
complete advantage on the battlefield and have almost completely
destroyed the military-technical potential of Armenia. The question
is, where do so many weapons and so much equipment come from to
Armenia? Armenia's military budget is well known. Armenia's state
budget is also well known. Armenia is a bankrupt country. The
country's foreign debt accounts for 60–70 percent of the country's
gross domestic product. The country's foreign exchange reserves are
only $1.5 billion, which are bank reserves. That is, it is not free
funds. What money are they getting these weapons and equipment
with? The equipment we have destroyed and taken as booty so far is
worth at least $2 billion. But there is still more in their hands –
in the occupied territories and in the territory of Armenia. The
question is who is arming them. In some cases, we are criticized
that we are arming ourselves; we are buying weapons, and this can
allegedly aggravate the situation and turn it in an unacceptable
direction. The question is what about Armenia’s armament. Where do
so many weapons and hardware come from in this poor country? Today,
they are smuggling weapons and equipment using some smuggling
schemes. And they are very dangerous and very destructive weapons.
Therefore, we want answers to these questions, and I am sure we
will get them.
I would like to bring to the attention of my people some of the
Armenian equipment the Azerbaijani Army has destroyed in recent
days. Thus, the list of the destroyed Armenian equipment includes:
234 tanks have been destroyed, 36 tanks have been taken as military
booty, 49 infantry fighting vehicles have been destroyed, 24 have
been taken as military booty, 16 self-propelled artillery pieces
have been destroyed, 190 cannons of various calibers, two
"Hurricane" systems, one TOS flamethrower, two "Elbrus" operational
tactical missile complexes, one "Tochka-U," 35 "OSA" anti-aircraft
missile systems, three "TOR" anti-aircraft missile complexes, five
"KUB" and "KRUG" anti-aircraft missile complexes, nine
radio-electronic combat systems, two S-300 anti-aircraft missile
systems, 196 trucks have been destroyed, and 98 have been taken as
booty. Anyone, any specialist, can calculate the price of this
equipment from open media. We must, and we will find answers to
these questions.
The glorious Azerbaijani Army is successfully continuing its
salvation mission. In recent days, I have informed my people and
announced the names of the newly liberated villages. Today, with a
feeling of great satisfaction and joy, I want to convey to my dear
people the names of more settlements that have been liberated. The
following settlements of Fuzuli district have been liberated from
the occupiers – Gochahmadli village, Chiman village, Juvarli
village, Pirahmadli village, Musabayli village, Ishigli village,
Dadali village, and Fuzuli city. The city of Fuzuli has been
liberated from the occupiers; Fuzuli is ours, and Karabakh is
Azerbaijan!
I heartily congratulate all the people of Azerbaijan on this
occasion. I heartily congratulate the people of Fuzuli on this
occasion. Many years of longing for native land are coming to an
end. We are honorably fulfilling our mission, restoring and will
restore the territorial integrity of our country. The battles for
Fuzuli were very hard. Time will pass, and books and papers will be
written about these battles. It was a battle that required great
professionalism, skill, courage, and self-sacrifice. Because during
these 30 years, the enemy has built such a strong fortification on
the line of contact that some people thought that it was impossible
to liberate the city of Fuzuli from occupation. Even the most
well-known military experts were of the opinion that it would take
months to capture Fuzuli and free it from occupation, and whether
the operation would be successful was still in question. However,
the victorious Azerbaijani Army was able to cope with this glorious
mission, and most of the villages of Fuzuli district and the city
of Fuzuli have been liberated from the enemy in a short time. When
we talk about the city of Fuzuli, of course, we should all know
that there is nothing left of the city, no monuments, not a single
safe building. For 30 years, it was in the hands of wild beasts, in
the hands of predators, in the hands of jackals. All the buildings
have been demolished, our religious sites have been demolished,
everything has been looted, the roofs of the houses, the windows,
the belongings – everything. It was as if a wild tribe had taken
over the city. The remains of the city of Fuzuli are a
manifestation of Armenian fascism and a witness to Armenian
fascism.
We will return to Fuzuli, we will rebuild and landscape all the
villages. Life will return to those villages. Just like in the past
when the Azerbaijani Army liberated 22 villages of Fuzuli district,
including Horadiz settlement, under the leadership of the great
leader. Look at how beautiful this place is now. Horadiz settlement
has become a very prosperous and modern town. Fuzuli people live in
liberated villages. I can say that about half of the population of
Fuzuli has been settled in the villages liberated so far, but more
villages inhabited by Fuzuli people have been liberated today. Life
will return there; they will return there, they will live there;
they will visit the graves of their ancestors. The call to prayer
will be heard in the mosques to be restored there. We are
fulfilling our glorious mission. I am confident that the glorious
Azerbaijani Army will continue to drive the invaders away from our
lands.
The Fuzuli operation is quite symbolic. Azerbaijan has regained
its historical and ancient settlement and ensured the return of
tens of thousands of people to these places. At the same time, from
a strategic point of view, the splitting of several lines of
defense on the line of contact with Fuzuli gives us another
strategic advantage. Because our armed forces located in the
direction of Fuzuli have been fighting there these days. Of course,
it is not a secret now where we were able to enter Fuzuli from. As
a result of tremendous military professionalism and courage, we
were able to liberate Fuzuli from the occupiers. Before that, the
city of Jabrayil was liberated from the invaders. Before that,
Hadrut was liberated from the occupiers. Many villages of Khojavand
and Jabrayil districts, including Fuzuli district, were liberated
from occupation. Only after that were we able to liberate the city
of Fuzuli from the occupiers.
In the latest stage, the enemy has dropped his guns and fled.
Today, I can say with full responsibility that the Fuzuli operation
will be included in military books. In fact, not only the Fuzuli
operation but also other operations. According to the information I
have today, military experts are already clearly saying that the
Azerbaijani Army is an army with great combat capability and
technical support.
It is a historic day today. The date of October 17 will remain
forever, not only in the memory of the Fuzuli people but also in
the history of the Azerbaijani state. Today, we, all the people of
Azerbaijan, are writing the brightest page of our people and our
state together. Today, we are writing this glorious history of
solidarity, mutual support, and unity. We are lucky to live in
these moments. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of our refugees and
IDPs who were looking forward to these moments did not live to see
these days. But I am sure that their spirit is happy today because
their native lands have been liberated from the occupiers.
Despite the fact that the cowardly, treacherous, and vile enemy
commits war crimes, fires on the civilian population, and kills
children as a result of today’s shooting, I want to say again that
we must not take revenge on civilians. We are taking revenge on the
battlefield. The blood of our martyrs and civilians does not and
will not remain unavenged. I warn the fascist leadership of Armenia
again – leave the remaining lands of your own accord. We will throw
you out of there anyway. There will be no trace of them left on
those lands. We will drive them out of our lands to the end. Let
them leave of their own accord!
He did not want to give up Fuzuli, even though he understood
perfectly well that he would not be able to keep it. He did not
want to give up Jabrayil. Yesterday, the day before yesterday, and
today, successful operations were carried out in the direction of
Jabrayil and strategic heights were taken. I do not want to say
anything about that yet. I do not want to get ahead of the events.
But the victorious Azerbaijani Army is achieving and will continue
to achieve its goals; our territorial integrity is being restored
and will be fully restored. No force can stop us. No force can
stand against the will of the Azerbaijani people. Everyone should
know this. No one can stand in front of us. Let the predatory
Armenian state vacate our lands. After that, a ceasefire will be
ensured. A ceasefire was declared, but Ganja was bombed a day
later. And which part of it? A residential settlement. Where did
they hit today? Again, a residential area. When did they shoot? At
night, so that more people die.
This is a crime against humanity. If the international community
does not want to bring Armenia to justice for the crimes it has
committed – just as no one has brought them to justice for the
Khojaly genocide – we will bring them to justice ourselves. We will
punish them, and our punishment will be just. They deserve the most
severe punishment. The military-political leadership of Armenia is
criminal, and we will punish these criminals.
The prime minister of Armenia who said that "Karabakh is
Armenia." What happened? Why aren’t you saying that "Karabakh is
Armenia" now? Come to Fuzuli, where you were exploiting our land.
Come to Jabrayil, come to Hadrut, come to other liberated places,
and say that "Karabakh is Armenia.". You are sitting there in
Yerevan, making statements from there, annoying world leaders –
there is no one left you didn’t phone.
Why aren’t you saying that "Karabakh is Armenia"? You are afraid,
and you should be. But why were you so brave when you insulted the
Azerbaijani people by saying that "Karabakh is Armenia, full stop"?
Who did you rely on? Didn’t you know that one day you will be held
accountable for your actions? The day has come and is coming.
Bringing Armenians from Lebanon and other countries to Shusha is a
war crime that contradicts the Geneva Convention. They do it
demonstratively; they show it on TV; they show Armenians coming to
live and work in our ancient land. Let's see now who will come to
settle in Shusha. You were building a new road with Armenia from
Jabrayil. Why? You have illegally occupied that region, our Araz
region, in order to settle Armenians there? You wanted to make us
face facts? What was the purpose of bringing Armenians from abroad
and settling them there in various ways, including through
deception because Armenia has a small population? The goal is to
keep our historical lands under eternal occupation to ensure
eternal occupation and Armenianize our lands. Look, they gave
Fuzuli an ugly name. Let this name be a curse to you. This name
will go to hell. This name no longer exists. There is no Madagiz –
it is Sugovushan. We will restore our other historical names. You
wanted to move the parliament of your "entity" to Shusha. Go ahead
and do it now! Where is the place where you conducted the
"swearing-in ceremony" of the leader of that fake gang? We have
destroyed it, completely destroyed it. You put forward seven
conditions to us. You were speaking to us in the language of
ultimatum. Let's see what your conditions are now. What happened?
You cling to people, fall at their feet, begging for help in
stopping Azerbaijan. Tell Azerbaijan to stop. Get out of our land,
and we will stop! Get the hell out of our lands! I have said this
before and do not hide anything. The people of Azerbaijan know
this, and the international community is saying this too. I say
this every day – get out and say that you will leave here tomorrow,
and we will stop. We do not need to shed blood. We need land. We
will get this land by any means. Let everyone know this. The
history of the last days shows this.
It is proving too costly for you, for the Armenian leadership,
to insult the Azerbaijani people. Too costly. The Armenian people
must finally bring the leaders of this criminal regime to justice.
Rallies are already being organized in military conscription
offices in Armenia. Mothers are blocking the roads and preventing
their children from dying in another country. I also appealed to
the Armenian people, and I am appealing to them again: Do not let
your children go! What are they doing in our lands? Live in your
own country. We have nothing to do with you. Go and live in your
own country; do whatever you want but leave our lands. I am
confident that the Armenian people will also bring the leaders of
their criminal junta to justice. We are on the path of truth; we
are on the path of justice. We are right, we are fighting in our
own land, we are giving martyrs on our own land. Ours is a holy
war!
We have shown our strength on the battlefield, both to the enemy
and to the whole world. The strength we are showing on the
battlefield is underpinned by the will of the Azerbaijani people,
their talent, and our success.
I want to say again that we are lucky people. Our generation is
happy to be witnessing these happy days. I consider myself lucky to
convey this good news to my people. As the Commander-in-Chief, I
lead all the work and want to assure the people of Azerbaijan that
I will continue to do my best to protect the national interests of
our country and our people. No threat and no pressure can affect my
will. Ours is the cause of truth. We are fighting on our own land
and restoring our territorial integrity.
Long live the Azerbaijani Army! Long live the people of
Azerbaijan! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!
