ALIYEV: WE WILL RAISE THE FLAG OF AZERBAIJAN IN KHANKENDI
News.Az
Friday, 13 July 2012 10:07
In The Coming Months And Years, Work In Our foreign policy will be
even more, and our relationship will become even wider.
Our principled position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is based on justice and international law.
The question of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never
been and will not be subject of negotiation. Azerbaijan will restore
its territorial integrity. I have no doubt about it, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers
dedicated to the socio-economic development in the first half of 2012
and upcoming challenges, APA reports.
The head of state noted that there has been some stagnation in the
negotiation process. This is despite the fact that the heads of the
co-chairs of the Minsk Group issued a new statement which reaffirmed
the unacceptability of the status quo.
“So far, concrete, real steps to change the status quo are not taken.
But it is inevitable. The status quo must be changed. And the heads
of state of co-chairs of the Minsk Group, president of the Council of
the European Union, in Baku, and representatives of the OSCE, other
international organizations and politicians have repeatedly noted the
unacceptability of the status quo. This is a very valuable statement.
Changing the status quo means the withdrawal of Armenian occupation
forces from the occupied lands. With the withdrawal of occupying forces
from the occupied lands, positive trends in the negotiation process,
of course, will grow even more, and this issue will be resolved soon,”
he said.
The president noted that along with all political and diplomatic
efforts, Azerbaijan expands military power.
“We have created a strong army. A strong army much strengthens our
position in the negotiations. Expanding economic opportunities of
Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan is becoming a powerful country, not only in
the region but also globally. Of course, our economic, financial,
and at the same time, political resources will contribute to a fair
settlement of the issue of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Grow
also our economy, our foreign exchange reserves and our population.
According to recent data, the population of Azerbaijan has already
reached 9.3 million people. As for Armenia, according to official
statistics, the first five months of this year, 80,000 people even
left this country. By the end of the year this figure will reach
about 170-200,000 people.
Thus, in a few years the demographic situation in general will be at
a decisive moment. Not by chance, in recent speeches, I pay special
attention to this matter. In Azerbaijan, the demographic situation
is good, positive, there is a natural growth. But I believe that
this growth should be even stronger. Perhaps further action should
be taken to encourage this growth. Our economy, industrial power,
financial resources will allow us to increase twice as many people
as it is now, and to create all conditions. Of course, it will be.
Today, 9.3 million, after a few years will be 15 million, 20 million.
That is, the process is on the go. We are now taking some additional
measures to further stimulate this process,” the president said.
“As for Armenia, it is possible that its leaders, in fact, rejoice
the decrease of population. After all, there are no jobs, no money,
no economy, no industry and no prospects. The smaller the population,
the smaller the burden that falls on the government. This is
one approach. Our approach is quite different. Our economy, the
industrial might and political will dictate that the Azerbaijani
population should grow. This is necessary not only to resolve the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh – we will solve
this issue and raise the flag of Azerbaijan in Khankendi – but also
for the future in general. In today’s world, unfortunately, in many
cases, international law does not work. International law is ignored.
In the foreground there is the factor of force. In fact, this
pattern was typical of the Middle Ages. Just after World War II –
after setting a new world order, new rules of international law have
been adopted as a basis. This is the case today. But looking at trends
and processes in the region and the world, we see that sometimes there
are taken steps that are fundamentally contrary to international law,
a factor of force.
Who is stronger, he is right. It is not our choice, but unfortunately,
ongoing processes in the world show this. And to be strong, you
need a strong economy, military-industrial potential and a large
population. Therefore, we must seriously address this issue.
Until now, these processes had a natural character. Just to increase
the natural growth of the economy as well as states became more
intense. We see it in the statistics. In recent years the birth rate
was higher than 10-15 years ago. This is an issue that is directly
linked to economic and social factors. But, I repeat, we must approach
this issue through a new spectrum. The Azerbaijani population should
grow even faster,” the head of state said.
Speaking about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
President noted that in recent years for the recognition of the
Khojaly tragedy as genocide, the state, government, our diplomacy,
civil society and our diaspora organizations have done very much. “It
is a very important and significant issue. Three countries – Colombia,
Mexico and Pakistan – have formally recognized the Khojaly tragedy as
genocide. I am confident that this process must and will continue. Our
embassies, government agencies, community organizations will continue
their efforts in this regard. Gradually more countries will recognize
the Khojaly tragedy as genocide,” President Aliyev said.