President Ilham Aliyev addresses the ruling New Azerbaijan Party congress in Baku on Oct. 2

In what can be seen as another attack on Armenia and inciting further hatred toward Armenians, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Friday accused the current Armenian authorities, with whom he is negotiating a peace agreement, of having had territorial claims against his country, vowing that the people of Azerbaijan “must never forget.”

Aliyev was speaking at the congress of his ruling New Azerbaijan Party, when he also called Armenia’s previous leaders “war criminals.”

“It is true that Armenia’s former leaders are war criminals and must face punishment; however, it was Armenia’s current authorities who made territorial claims against us and insulted the dignity of the Azerbaijani people with inappropriate and uncivilized statements. In short, we must never forget that,” Aliyev said.

“The Azerbaijani people united like a fist to demand their rights, and the Azerbaijani leadership fulfilled this honorable mission. Azerbaijan paved the way for major geopolitical changes,” Aliyev said.

In direct reference to a statement made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Stepanakert in August 2019, Aliyev said: “Those who once said, ‘Karabakh is Armenia, full stop,’ now say, ‘Karabah is Azerbaijan!’”

Aliyev also portrayed Azerbaijan’s military campaigns as part of a continuous effort to achieve what he termed the “complete restoration of the country’s territorial integrity.”

Referring to the inhumane practices of Azerbaijani soldiers during the 2020 War as a “glorious victory,” Aliyev emphasized that his government had continued working on several fronts between the 2020 conflict and the September 2023 military campaign against Artsakh, which forced the displacement of the entire Armenian population from its ancestral lands.

He further identified the continued strengthening of Azerbaijan’s military capacity as one of the country’s lead priorities.

Aliyev also called for tighter control over the country’s ideological sphere, saying it should remain free of what he described as foreign elements and influences. He said Azerbaijan’s ideological work should be reorganized on a “contemporary” basis and insisted that the country did not need to create “myths” to sustain its national narrative.

Aliyev also spoke about foreign policy, stating that Baku has shaped—and must continue to shape—its policy in such a way that no one interferes in its affairs. “We need neither anyone’s help nor anyone’s patronage,” he emphasized.

Aliyev asserted that Azerbaijan, rich in energy resources, has now become a significant geopolitical and security factor. “Because energy security equates to national security for every country, and our role will only grow,” he declared—despite forecasts by major international energy agencies and the Azerbaijani government itself indicating that the country’s oil production is set to decline in the long term.

He claimed that Azerbaijan currently commands great respect on the international stage, with many prominent experts and analysts already classifying the country among the ranks of middle powers.

“There are numerous parameters for this. We have fully secured economic independence, and today we are a highly respected member of the international community. Our destiny is in our own hands,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev’s latest comments come against a documented record of international concern over official anti-Armenian discourse, highlighting the continued use of hostile state rhetoric even as Baku presents its relations with Armenia as entering a post-conflict period.

The Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has warned that the line between Azerbaijani political rhetoric directed at Armenian decision-makers and hate speech targeting Armenians as an ethnic or national group has become “blurred and practically impossible to discern.” It has also documented inflammatory rhetoric by politicians, including at Azerbaijan’s highest political levels.

Aliyev also spoke about his “Great Return” campaign, which seeks to resettle occupied Artsakh

“96,000 people live, work, and study in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur,” Aliyev said, adding that approximately $16 billion has been spent to date on the development of these regions. He noted that the majority of the projects being implemented have been completed, and “internally displaced persons have already been resettled in 48 settlements.”

“In the coming years, the ‘Great Return’ will proceed at a faster pace,” he stressed.