By Trend

Azerbaijan made very serious steps to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2018, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in his congratulation to the Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the Solidarity Day of World Azerbaijanis and New Year.

"We remain committed to our principled position on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Our position is fair. Our position is fully consistent with the norms and principles of international law. Nagorno-Karabakh is ancient Azerbaijani land. The whole world recognizes the territorial integrity of our country," said President Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved only within the territorial integrity of our country.

"The resolutions of the UN Security Council must be fully implemented and the occupying forces must unconditionally withdraw from our lands.

I can say that Azerbaijan made very serious steps to resolve this conflict in 2018. As you know, the regime of criminal and corrupt junta that which remained in power in Armenia for 20 years has collapsed and this represents a complete failure of Armenia's aggressive policy against Azerbaijan. I can also say that our thought-out, focused and principled policy against Armenia has yielded fruit. We have isolated Armenia from all regional and international projects, and our share in the collapse of the Armenian economy is quite large. I think there is a new situation for the settlement of the conflict today," President Aliyev said.

Azerbaijani President expressed hope that 2019 can be a breakthrough year in this area.

"Along with this, of course, I think that our strong military potential is a key factor for the resolution of the conflict. In recent years, we have significantly enhanced our military power. Today, the Azerbaijani army is among the strongest armies in the world. This year's military parade in our country shows our strength, the great potential of strong army. The Azerbaijani army has the most modern weapons and equipment, a very high combat potential, and we proved this again this year. The Azerbaijani army has carried out a successful operation in the Nakhchivan direction of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border and is now in control of 11,000 hectares of land. The takeover of strategic heights enables us to exercise full control over important communications and routes passing through Armenia.

We will continue to increase our military power. We want to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully, and our participation in the negotiations is a clear proof of that. However, everyone knows and should know that the military factor plays a special role for the solution of the conflict, and we will increase our military power further," President Aliyev said.