Azerbaijani MP: Policy of Armenia's military junta leads country to fiasco

Azerbaijani MP says status quo on the Karabakh issue does not satisfy Azerbaijan and it is high time to change it. The MP was commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's speech he delivered at a meeting with IDPs in country’s Gabala region.  

“The president of our country Ilham Aliyev is the only person in Azerbaijan directly involved in negotiations with Armenia over the Karabakh issue. Therefore, the public, media and others constantly keep track of his speeches to catch any details concerning the negotiations with Armenia because he knows the course of a dialogue with Armenia better than anyone. All other opinions on the matter are merely comments,” the MP said.

As the president said, it is time to change the current status quo and everyone should already understand this. Internally displaced people from Armenia and the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan are severe social and economic burden for Azerbaijan. It is high time for them to return to their native lands. In this regard, the question of liberation of the seven occupied areas (around the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region) is on the agenda, and has strategic importance for us. Therefore, Azerbaijan’s position on these territories have become stronger," he said.

"In my opinion, the President’s speech was also directed against the fake and far-fetched Armenian history. Compared with 1988, Armenian nationalists have stepped up claims to Azerbaijan. Authorities in Armenia are trying to present themselves as a victor of the war over Karabakh. First, they must know that the war is not over. Only the first stage of confrontation is over. Secondly, no Armenian inhabitant has enjoyed benefits of "victory" over Azerbaijan in country’s socio-economic and their daily life so far.”

“If the Karabakh Armenians lived within Azerbaijan, they could enjoy the rights of autonomy that exists, for example, in Nakhchivan, and would enjoy much better socio-economic condition. It should be noted that the budget of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic totals 450 million dollars, which is almost comparable to Armenia’s income,” the MP added.

"Taking into account that international law and justice are on our side, Azerbaijan reserves the right to act till the end to recover its occupied territories. Of course, we want to do this through peaceful negotiations. But, as stated by President Ilham Aliyev on numerous occasions, Azerbaijan will not accept loss of its territories, and we are ready to resume the war to liberate our land at any moment.”

“At the same time, Azerbaijan purchases modern weapons and equipment and applies new standards in its army. All this makes Armenia to arm and start some kind of arms race with Azerbaijan. But the policy of a military junta in Armenia leads the country to a fiasco. The reason is quite simple. Armenia has much less internal resources drawn from the national budget compared with Azerbaijan. Of course, they try not to lag behind us allocating more resources to the army. This exhausts their budget more and more each year leading the  country to a standstill,” the Azerbaijani MP noted.


Z. Ahmadov