Azerbaijani president: Armenia can't be friend to Muslims after destroying mosques sacred to them

By Trend

Having destroyed mosques sacred to Muslims around the world, Armenia cannot be a friend of Muslim countries, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the 7th Summit of the Cooperation Council of the Turkic-Speaking States (Turkic Council) in Baku on Oct.15.

“As you know, there is no progress in the settlement of Azerbaijan’s most painful problem, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, because of Armenia’s destructive policy,” Ilham Aliyev said.

“For about 30 years, Armenia, flagrantly violating the norms and principles of international law, has continued its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan. A policy of ethnic cleansing has been carried out in the occupied territories, more than a million of our compatriots have found themselves in the position of refugees and internally displaced persons. In these territories, the historical and cultural heritage belonging to the Azerbaijani people, Islamic monuments and mosques have been destroyed and razed to the ground.”

“Armenia is trying to establish close cooperation with Muslim countries,” the Azerbaijani president noted. “However, having destroyed mosques sacred to Muslims around the world, Armenia cannot be a friend of Muslim countries. This vandalism against our religion shows the Islamophobic essence of Armenia.”

“Four resolutions of the UN Security Council have been adopted in relation to the conflict, and they contain an unequivocal demand for an unconditional and complete withdrawal of occupying forces from Azerbaijani lands,” Ilham Aliyev added. “Similar decisions and resolutions have been adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement, the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, NATO, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and other organizations. Armenia ignores the requirements of these resolutions and decrees and evades fulfillment of its international obligations.”

“Nagorno-Karabakh is historical and original Azerbaijani land,” the Azerbaijani president said. “It is an integral part of Azerbaijan. The conflict must be resolved within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in accordance with the norms and principles of international law. The final statements of the summits of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States also constantly express support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of state borders. Taking this opportunity, I want to thank our partners who support a fair settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.”