"The way how Armenia behaved during the war also shows their inhuman attitude of their leadership. Because attacking peaceful cities situated far away from the conflict zone by ballistic missiles, from Armenia's territory is a war crime," President Ilham Aliyev said while accepting the credentials of newly appointed Dutch Ambassador to Azerbaijan Pauline Eizema.
"It happened that your arrival in Azerbaijan almost coincided with the war. Therefore, our meeting was postponed due to the objective circumstances. You arrived nearly two months ago. So, I am sure you understand why our meeting didn't take place earlier. But unfortunately, when our meeting was appointed, I got information that your country's parliament adopted a motion-anti-Azerbaijani motion, also, anti-Turkish motion, providing the sanctions against Azerbaijan. My assistant informed me that during the discussions, the foreign minister of the Netherlands advocated for a more balanced approach. So, we appreciate that, but the fact that the parliament adopts such an unbalanced and, I think, the unjust decision will not, of course, help us to establish closer ties. First of all, I would like to say, taking into account the fact that yesterday this decision was adopted, it was Armenia who attacked us. We were defending ourselves, and as a result of that, we managed to liberate territories that belong to us due to the norms and principles of international law and belong to us historically. Our fight was a fight for freedom, for liberation, and it ended with great military success and a political victory. And on November 10th, as you know, the trilateral statement was signed, which put an end to the war. Therefore, it was very strange that, after Armenia signed this declaration, which basically is a capitulation, such a decision was adopted in a country situated far away from our region. As you probably know, the regional countries supported this declaration. All our neighbors expressed support for this declaration. Two of our neighbors-Russia and Turkey will be part of the operations, which will provide security and safety for Azerbaijanis and Armenians. So, I think it is more just to be on our side than on some other side. And also, probably, you are informed about the comments of the US State Department, which supports the ceasefire, the European Union. Therefore, I understand that parliamentarians have their agenda, sometimes they have their preferences; it's understandable. I know that your country's government has its position, which may be different from what was adopted by the parliament, but it won't be easy to explain to our people why it happened. Therefore, you will have to face this situation when people ask you why the Netherlands was the first country whose parliament adopts such a decision. From a practical point of view, it will not impact the situation on the ground. The problem now is stabilizing. Our refugees and IDPs who waited for this day for almost 30 years are celebrating this great military and political victory, and they are looking forward to seeing that time-table for their return. But it will take time because the aggressor destroyed almost everything. And these videos are shown on our TV; this devastation probably is a unique form of brutality, vandalism, barbarism against our people, against our cultural-religious heritage, against humanity. Using cluster bombs and phosphorus bombs is a war crime. So, all the international media testified that and also international NGOs. So, I regret that I have to start our conversation with that, but that was only since our meeting was appointed two days ago, and the decision of your parliament was made later than that. Apart from that, what can I say? Once again, it will not be easy to explain it. It will also depend on the position of your government or your foreign minister. We expect their comments because my assistant told me that there had been comments during the discussion, but we hope for comments now, after this decision was made. Of course, we will be expecting the remarks of the European Commission. As you know, the European Commission and Azerbaijan have a comprehensive agenda of cooperation. Two years ago, we initialed the "Partnership Priorities" document in Brussels, which fully supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of international borders of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was fighting on its territory, was restoring its territorial integrity, and it is in line with the UN Security Council Resolutions, with the document which was initialed by the EU and Azerbaijan.
"I wish you a pleasant time. I hope that this not very pleasant page in our history will not seriously damage our relations. Still, of course, it will depend on your government's further steps and our government, which will act correspondingly. So, welcome once again," the head of state emphasized.