"When I was first elected President in 2003, I addressed the people of Azerbaijan and said that we would regain our historical lands from the enemy at any cost – whether through peace or war. And so it happened,” said Azerbaijani President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev in his speech in front of the servicemen in Shusha, APA reports.
" Many years of peace talks did not yield any results. The result was zero. On the contrary, the enemy became completely presumptuous. Whereas the Azerbaijani people and myself still had some hope for negotiations in the first years of occupation, those hopes were completely dashed in recent years. Armenia and its supporters wanted to perpetuate this occupation. They believed that if they were able to occupy our lands for about 30 years, they would continue to occupy them forever. But they made a mistake. They should have known that we would never come to terms with this situation. They should have known that we would drive the enemy out of our lands at any cost. We had to be ready for this as a people and as a state. All preparations had to be made on time, and they were. As you know, army building and strengthening of our military potential were my priority tasks as President, and it is no coincidence that the biggest state budget expenditures have been intended for military purposes during my presidency. Over the years, we have created a strong military and technical capacity. The most modern weapons, ammunition and equipment were brought to our country, and this equipment was used properly by the military. The second Karabakh war is a clear proof of this. The combat capability of our army has greatly increased. Regular military exercises were held, and the equipment, morale and combat capability of our army were greatly enhanced. We had to strengthen the economy, and we understood that if we did not achieve this, we would not be able to drive the enemy out of our lands. First of all, economic independence had to be secured. Because if we had been dependent, if we had depended on any other power, they would never have allowed us to fulfill this glorious mission. Therefore, from the first days of my presidency, all the necessary steps were taken for economic independence, and we achieved this in a short time. Today, Azerbaijan is at the forefront of the world in terms of economic potential and economic stability. Without the economic independence, there would be no political independence. We could have found ourselves in a dependent position – just as many countries are dependent today, which is why they are unable to express their will. Political independence has allowed us the opportunity to build relations with all our partners on the principles of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's affairs. Thus, one of the main conditions for the liberation of our lands was provided", said President.
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