Peace remains fragile and must be protected and strengthened.
“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports that President Ilham Aliyev made the remarks while addressing the 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
“We did not strike those who had already been defeated. We did not stoop to the level of the barbarians and child-killers who had caused so much suffering to our people. We offered peace, and for a little more than a year we have been living in peace. This peace remains fragile and must be protected and strengthened,” the head of state added.
The President said that if Armenia had been sanctioned in a timely manner for occupation, genocide and ethnic cleansing, Azerbaijan would not have been forced to break the back of Armenian fascism on the battlefield. He noted that the aggressor’s impunity had only emboldened it:
“War was not our choice. Armenia forced us into war. Those backing it apparently did not think that Azerbaijan would restore its sovereignty and international law by force. But they were all mistaken. They probably did not understand the character of our proud, freedom-loving people, who live by their traditions and moral values.”
Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan won the war and drove the occupiers from its lands, but did not take revenge for 30 years of suffering, genocide and the destruction of cities and villages:
“We took revenge on the battlefield and offered Armenia peace. Here, too, our people’s moral qualities were once again evident. We did not strike those who had already been defeated. We did not stoop to the level of the barbarians and child-killers who had caused so much suffering to our people.”
