Ilham Aliyev: Opening his ugly mouth and talking about my father in Yerevan today will cost Serzhik very dearly

"Of course, the Armenian army and personnel were in a deep moral and psychological shock. They were terrified, and, of course, in the following period, from 3 October until the last minutes of the war, the Armenian army remained in fear. It is no coincidence that there were more than 10,000 deserters in the Armenian army. They realized that they could not stand in front of us. They saw that their government was lying to them and sending them to death, that it was carrying out meaningless operations, as a result of which the personnel of the Armenian armed forces were actually sacrificed. An army of 10,000 deserters could not resist us, of course," President Ilham Aliyev said while raising the Azerbaijani flag in Sugovushan settlement of Tartar district on October 3, Report informs.

After that, the glorious Victory March of the Azerbaijani Army and our Armed Forces continued. It is true that in some places, the Armenian side did put up some resistance. In some places, it created difficulties for us. But this is a war. After all, they had built great fortifications over 30 years – look at these mountains, they were all natural fortifications – and, of course, they had the opportunity to defend themselves. But they already knew that they could not stand in front of us. The presence of 10,000 deserters speaks volumes.

There was former Armenian president Serzhik Sarkisyan among those deserters. I was recently told that he had uttered some ugly words about Azerbaijan and the great leader – in full accordance with his level. He is the first deserter himself. Because he tampered in Khankandi during the war, as if he would do something there. But when he saw that the Azerbaijani Army was already coming and could grab him by the ear and bring him to Baku, he fled from there like a coward. I did not call him Serzhik Sarkisyan because I wanted to humiliate him, but because this is his real name and surname. We have this information in our archives. His birth certificate and his Komsomol ticket state that his name is Serzhik Sarkisyan. Then he changed it to Serzh Sarkisyan as if Serzh is an acceptable name.

This man has been known throughout his life as a thief, criminal, fraudster, traitor, and deserter all his life. There is no one in Armenia who wouldn't know of Serzhik's theft. The "war heroes" associated with him are either in prison or in hell today. The "general" who sold "soldier's stew" and is already burning in hell, Serzhik's right-hand man, shows the true face of the Armenian army and that of Serzhik. What words does a general who sells "soldier's stew" during war deserve? Another right-hand man of Serzhik's, a war criminal who served as defense minister during the war, was recently arrested in Armenia for theft. He was buying faulty weapons and pocketing the money. We have ample information about this – both before and during the war. The ground was burning under their feet, the Azerbaijani Army was advancing every day, but the Armenian defense minister was signing contracts to buy defective weapons and pocketing the money for the price difference. Such are Serzhik's pupils, thieves just like him.

I have said that Serzhik is a war criminal. I am not the only one who says it. This is also stated by all impartial and independent political scientists and journalists who are familiar with the region. In an interview with a British journalist, he said that he had personally committed the Khojaly genocide. He also explained that the Azerbaijanis should know that the Armenian army could take up arms against the civilian population too. This bloody criminal is Serzhik Sarkisyan. I call him a traitor, and this is not an insult. He has been a traitor at every single step. Firstly, towards the people of Azerbaijan whose bread he had been eating. Secondly, towards Gevorkov, the former first secretary of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, as he was his aide, he carried his suitcase for him. This is part of his biography. He may have had this deleted, but it is still available in our archives. His appointment took place in Baku. We have everything in our archives. Serzhik Sargkisyan was formally Boris Gevorkov's assistant, but he was actually his servant, a kebab maker and a party organizer. What happened then? Then, as soon as the separatist movement began, Serzhik betrayed Gevorkov. This was the second act of betrayal. The third act of betrayal was against his leader Kocharyan. Now there is no one in Armenia who wouldn't know this. It was Kocharyan who took Serzhik by the ear and brought him to office. He appointed him to all positions. He also forcibly had him appointed as president. But the Armenian people hated Serzhik. What happened after that? Less than a year later, he betrayed Kocharyan too and did not even answer his phone calls. Notice how lowly this specimen is.

An analysis of the war shows again that it was the likes of Serzhik Sarkisyan who lost the war. He now wants to blame the defeat on Pashinyan, as if it is Pashinyan who is to blame. Pashinyan came to power in 2018. Could he have created an army in just two years? Or could he have destroyed a "strong" and "formidable" army? It is Serzhik who created this army. Serzhik was the minister of defense in Armenia. Serzhik was the prime minister of Armenia. He was the head of the Presidential Administration and head of the Ministry of Security. He was president for 10 years. Who created this army if not Serzhik? By crushing that army, we have destroyed Serzhik and those like him. Let him not blame this defeat on Pashinyan. What Pashinyan did is another matter, but we have defeated Serzhik, brought him to his knees, broke his back. He knelt before us, the army he had built was on its knees before us. I am here today as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. If Serzhik is a man, let him come here instead of talking of manhood. He talks about manhood in the Caucasus. First of all, his nation has nothing to do with the Caucasus. They are settlers here, and everyone knows where they came from. Secondly, if you are talking about manhood, come here as a man. Look, I am standing here. I am standing in Sugovushan, which you call "Madagiz". If you are a man, come over here. Otherwise, you can't make a hero out of yourself by sitting and crowing there in Yerevan.

I once told him to throw away the scrap he was still carrying on his chest. Those medals are not worth a penny. He was given the best punishment by the Armenian people themselves, who kicked him out of office in 2018. In the 2018 elections, he committed yet another fraud by allegedly receiving 50 percent of the vote. And the accomplice of that crime is the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Because together with Serzhik – I do not know what sort of a deal they struck, but I can guess – they recognized his victory. This man is widely ridiculed, mocked and hated in Armenia. He allegedly more than 50 percent of the vote, appointed himself prime minister, and the OSCE turned a blind eye to that. So there are two forgers – one is the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which always despises Azerbaijan, and the other is Serzhik. But after that, the Armenian people stood up. The Armenian people stood up, kicked him and threw him out of office. What did he do after that? He came humbly and said that he was not right, that Nikol was right. Can a person who calls himself a man say such a thing? Can a person who calls himself a man humiliate himself so much? So he was done away with like that. For the next two years, he kept his mouth shut. He was insulted so much. So many of his criminal relatives were arrested. He has a close relative who went into hiding abroad, received a Guatemalan passport in Colombia and also changed his name. Just like Serzhik made himself Serzh early on. His relative also gave himself the name of Gonzalez. They grabbed him by the ear and arrested him. He stayed tight-lipped in fear. What can he say after all? But he seems to rise again after the war. If it hadn't been for the war, if it hadn't been for this bitter defeat, Serzhik would be in prison now. A thief like him may not have been born in our region yet.

His opening his ugly mouth and talking about my father in Yerevan today will cost him very dearly. We almost grabbed him by the ear. He found out from somewhere that he was approaching, ran away from Khankandi and settled in Yerevan. In the recent elections, he failed to get even five percent of the vote. See how much the Armenian people hate this creature that they voted for the government that was guilty of losing the war, not for him. That is why I am saying to you again – look, I am here, I am in Sugovushan, I am in Shusha, I am in Hadrut, I am in Khojavand, I am everywhere. But where are you? In hell, together with the status that has gone to hell. This is it. It is over.

By saying these words, I do not respond to an only element that opens his ugly mouth to utter some nonsense, someone giving off the smell of naphthalene. I appeal to people like him all over Armenia, to all those who cherish revanchist sentiments – come to your senses. The iron fist is still there, it has not gone anywhere, it is still in place. Don't upset us and behave. If you behave, then you can live safely. But if there are further provocation, statements or actions against us, we will crush your head without looking at anyone. No one can protect you," the head of state said.