Fuad Huseynaliyev: Azerbaijan ends long-standing Karabakh conflict

By carrying out local anti-terrorism measures, Azerbaijan has put an end to the long-standing Karabakh conflict, Fuad Huseynaliyev, director of the Report News Agency, said at the IV International Conference on the topic “Basics of Sustainable Development and Secure Future.”

“By carrying out local anti-terrorism measures, Azerbaijan has completely restored sovereignty throughout the entire territory and put an end to the long-standing Karabakh conflict,” he said, adding that further plans include the reintegration of Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society. At the same time, Azerbaijan stands on the position of good neighborliness and aims to sign a peace treaty with Armenia, he noted.

The director emphasized that Azerbaijan is a multinational country and offers Karabakh Armenians the same rights as all Azerbaijanis. At the same time, when watching video footage of Armenians leaving Karabakh, it is possible to hear how some of them didn’t even know about the opportunity to stay and live with the Azerbaijanis, he said.

He added that after the completion of anti-terrorism measures, the central authorities of Baku have already sent food aid, medical equipment to Karabakh several times, and even offered to transfer those wounded as a result of an explosion at a filling station near Khankandi to clinics in other cities of Azerbaijan. Two meetings have already been held with representatives of the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region, at which issues of their reintegration are discussed, he said.

Fuad Huseynaliyev also spoke about the history of the conflict and the Karabakh wars between Azerbaijan and Armenia, noting that for 30 years negotiations have been held with the participation of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, without any results or hopes for them.

“For almost 30 years, a significant part of Azerbaijan’s territory was occupied, namely 20 percent. All our fellow citizens were expelled from there, ethnic cleansing was carried out there - not a single Azerbaijani remained,” he said, adding that after the bloody events of Khojaly and other similar acts of genocide, Azerbaijanis were afraid of complete extermination.

“In addition, even after the end of the war in 2020 and the signing of a trilateral agreement, illegal armed groups of Armenia continued to remain in these territories. They fired at Azerbaijani positions and mined territories, as evidenced by the discovered landmines produced in 2021. So, on September 19, six persons became victims of landmines, two of whom were civilians, which was the last straw, after which anti-terrorism measures were launched,” he noted.