Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has unleashed a new wave of disinformation, threats, and blackmail. As always, Armenia was the main target of Aliyev’s attacks, with the U.S. and France also affected.
“Today is a day of mourning for the anti-Azerbaijani forces. How can it be that without our permission, without asking anyone, without fearing anyone, and disregarding anyone, Azerbaijan restored its rights? By its own strength, through the dedication of its sons. They cannot forgive us for this,” Aliyev stated during a meeting with residents of Jabrail (the Azerbaijani name for the historical Armenian neighborhood of Jraqank) on October 4.
“Today, America is imposing sanctions against Azerbaijan. And after that, they say, let’s strengthen our friendship. What kind of friendship can we talk about?” the Azerbaijani leader added, emphasizing that “Azerbaijan must rely only on its own strength and not be deceived by any promises, flattering words, or false statements.”
“The Minsk Group was engaged in justifying the Armenian occupation to some extent and pushing Azerbaijan into a humiliating peace,” Aliyev claimed. “We were told that our words were too harsh. This harsh rhetoric does not bring us closer to peace but drives us further away. This conflict has no military solution. This means that France and similar Western countries did everything to perpetuate this occupation.”
Referring directly to Armenia, the Azerbaijani president said, “Armenia has engaged in dangerous games. Let them not forget the history of the Second Karabakh War. Let them not forget how they begged us for mercy, how they turned to Russia ten times a day at the highest levels, asking to stop the war. Let them not forget about the anti-terrorist operation. Let them not forget that even under those geographical conditions, we were able to achieve what we wanted. We eradicated separatism in just a few hours, without looking back at anyone, regardless of everything.”
In essence, Aliyev has admitted in one speech that he conducted an aggressive war against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, expressed an intention to repeat this, and confirmed that everything was heading toward the independent status of Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.