Month: February 2019

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15

Trend:

Today, Azerbaijan has an advantage both at the negotiating table and on the battlefield, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to the head of the TV channel “Real” Mirshahin Aghayev, Trend reports referring to the press service of the head of state.

“In recent years, we have created a powerful legal framework for resolving the conflict. Many leading and influential international organizations of the world have adopted decisions and resolutions in connection with the conflict, which reflect the truth and support our position – the UN General Assembly, earlier the Security Council, the OSCE, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and others. The document on partnership priorities signed between the European Union and Azerbaijan expresses support for our territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders,” he explained.

“This creates a legal basis for resolving the conflict. It lies in the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh – as we all know very well – is an integral part of Azerbaijan,” the head of state said.

President underlined that conflict resolution is possible only within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

“At that time, having created a powerful economic potential, we established a strong army. The Azerbaijani army is one of the strongest armies in the world today. Our combat capability and possibilities are growing. We are equipping our army with the most sophisticated hardware. The April fights (2016) demonstrated our strength. By launching a counteroffensive operation from the most unfavorable military positions, we took over strategic heights. We freed our lands from invaders. The flag of Azerbaijan flies in Agdara, Fizuli and Jabrayil districts today. The April battles are a glorious and historic victory for us. While visiting Lalatapa and seeing the flag of Azerbaijan there, I feel a sense of pride. Every citizen of Azerbaijan feels proud. Our soldiers and officers have displayed true heroism. The April battles are a historic event. They have dispelled the myth that Armenia had been creating for years,” Ilham Aliyev said.

“The Armenians tried to form an opinion that their army was allegedly strong and invincible. Azerbaijani soldiers and officers showed whose army is really strong and invincible. This myth has been dispelled. The April battles bolstered our national spirit, raised it to heights. Therefore, this event shows once again that the Azerbaijani people and state will never put up with this occupation,” said the president.

Ilham Aliyev mentioned that two years after the April battles, a successful Nakhchivan operation was carried out.

“This was a special operation from a tactical point of view, but it was very successful and enabled us to take full control over strategic heights, mountains and the enemy’s strategic communications. So all these are important events showing the power and professionalism of our army. All this shows that the conflict must be resolved within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” the head of state stressed.

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15

Trend:

The Institute of History of the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences will hold a conference in Poland devoted to the Khojaly genocide, director of the Institute, academician Yaqub Mahmudov, said, Trend reports referring to the Institute.

Mahmudov made the remarks at the meeting of the Scientific Council in Baku on Feb. 15.

The academician stressed that the Institute of History is actively involved in the information war with Armenia and its aggressive policy, adding that his recent awarding with the Emek Order of the first degree is a high assessment, which was given not only to him, but also for the activity of the Institute of History and its scholars as a whole.

On Feb. 9, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree awarding Yaqub Mahmudov with the Emek Order of the first degree for many years of fruitful activity in the field of research of the Azerbaijani history.

The Scientific Council of the Institute expressed gratitude to the president for the award.

In 2012, 13 employees of the Institute received the Azerbaijani state awards for the works on the history of Karabakh, Nakhchivan and Irevan khanate upon President Aliyev’s order.

The presentation of the books by historian Nazim Mammadov and journalist Latif Shamkhal (Mustafayev) was held at the scientific council.

During the ongoing Karabakh war, on February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As a result of the genocide, 613 people were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly, 487 people became disabled, and 1275 residents were taken hostage.

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15

Trend:

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov may meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and discuss the possibility of a summit of the two countries’ leaders, RIA Novosti cited Mammadyarov, Trend reports.

“I think this topic will be discussed as part of a meeting with my counterpart from Armenia and, of course, as part of the visit of the Minsk Group co-chairs,” Mammadyarov said.

When answering the question whether a meeting with Mnatsakanyan will be held in Munich, the Azerbaijani minister said that they may definitely meet during the conference.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15

By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:

The courses on how to change power in Russia, held by the activists who took part in the change of power in Armenia, should be regarded as an outrageous manifestation of the unfriendliness of Yerevan towards Moscow, Andrei Ivanov, head of the Strategic Analysis Center of the Russian Institute for Innovative Development, told Trend.

The well-known Russian expert was commenting on the American-funded four-day courses “How to make a revolution in Russia?” in Yerevan.

The fact of holding the courses was also confirmed in a recent report aired February 12 in the program “Time” on Channel One Russia.

As it became known, the courses were organized by the Prague Civil Center, which is funded by the US Congress in accordance with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

Ivanov says these courses in Armenia can in no way affect the political situation in Russia.

“One cannot compare the small Armenia with the Russian Federation, where the system of power itself is much more sophisticated due to the size of the country. It was necessary to block only a couple of streets in the center of the capital to change the power in Armenia. This scenario is simply impossible in Russia. Nevertheless, I will note one other thing.”

“It turns out that on the one hand, new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan talks about the importance of relations with Moscow, he constantly assures Russian President Vladimir Putin of his friendship, and, at the same time, Pashinyan’s supporters gather representatives of Russian marginal circles in Yerevan and teach them how to sow chaos in their own country,” he said.

Ivanov said the victorious supporters of Pashinyan are in certain euphoria.

“It seems to them that they have already made their country happy and now it is necessary to start helping other nations,” he noted. “They say that it is worth holding several seminars for small groups from Russia, and the experience of the Armenian revolution will immediately spread over a huge space. I don’t rule out the factor of self-interest of these activists who started the courses.”

The political analyst added that the seminars for the Russian opposition are paid for by the US structures that are interested in destabilizing the situation in Russia.

“There are a lot of people willing to conduct such seminars and receive grants,” he said. “Now, Armenian political analysts decided that it is their time to make money from the US desires of coup d’états in other countries. They gained the trust of Washington, and now there are people in Armenia who got the opportunity to earn extra money. However, it is important to understand that the stability of any power depends, above all, on the ability to perceive the needs of the society. No seminars, no foreign funding can ignite the fire of popular discontent.”

Ivanov noted that he sees the holding of seminars in Armenia for Russian activists as an attempt of some particularly wily Armenian activists to earn money.