Ilham Aliyev set an example of defending our national interests in an interview to Director General of "Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency" media holding Dmitry Kiselev for Russian RIA Novosti agency.

Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Director General of "Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency" media holding Dmitry Kiselev for Russian RIA Novosti agency and said that on 27 September, Azerbaijan was subjected to yet another attack by the Armenian armed forces. It was not the first attack in the past three months. Something similar but on a smaller scale took place at the state border in July. That attack was repulsed. In August, a subversion group was sent from the Armenian side to commit terrorist acts against the civilian population and the military. The Armenian defense minister said that Armenia was preparing for a new war for new territories. There were incessant threats and insults addressed to us, which resulted in such confrontation. Establishment of a separatist regime, an uncontrolled zone in the Azerbaijani lands by the occupation of Armenia is indeed one of the serious threats to peace and security in the region and in Europe in general. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev also always emphasizes that to describe separatist activity as the desire of the “people of Nagorno-Karabakh to determine their own destiny” is completely absurd and contradicts the norms and principles of international law. To date, there are 43 civilian deaths and more than 200 wounded, about 2,000 houses in villages as a result of attacks by Armenian Army. About 2,000 houses in villages and towns adjacent to the line of contact are either destroyed or damaged. Unfortunately, artillery shelling by Armenia has continued after the agreement on the parameters of a ceasefire was reached, including the barbaric bombing of the city of Ganja that killed ten and injured about 40 civilians. As for the losses on the battlefield, the losses of the Armenian side are far greater than ours. Azerbaijani troops have neutralized at least 200 tanks. 33 tanks were taken as booty, and they are in good condition. OSA system neutralized against 35 air strikes, 2 S-300 air defense systems which are very expensive, very valuable, were destroyed, as well as the very expensive TOR air defense system was neutralized, and about 170 trucks were neutralized or are with us. 16 command centers were destroyed. The results of the battle operations are very successful for the Azerbaijani Army. The tactics of the Azerbaijani army are completely different from the military tactics of other countries. In the past, land forces were attacked directly with human resources, but now other counter-attack operations are underway after destroying enemy equipment with accurate strikes, transmitting information from both air reconnaissance and artillery. We have managed to break through the deeply echeloned defenses of the opposing side. To date, dozens of settlements have been liberated from the occupation, including the city of Jabrayil and most of the villages of Jabrayil district, the vast majority of villages in the Fuzuli district, and the settlement of Sugovushan, which is of strategic importance. Occupiers were driven out of strategic heights on the Murovdag mountain range and continue our successful operation to restore our country's territorial integrity. Speaking about the history of Nagorno-Karabakh, President Ilham Aliyev said: - “Large-scale resettlement of the Armenian population to this region began after the two Russo-Persian Wars of 1813 and 1828. Since then, Armenians' mass resettlement to the Karabakh region started from the territory of present-day Iran and partly Eastern Anatolia. At the beginning of the 19th century, Ibrahim Khalil Khan of Karabakh and Shusha, that was his exact status, signed an agreement with Tsarist Russia, represented by General Tsitsianov, on the incorporation of the Karabakh Khanate into Russia. The agreement's text, called the Kurekchay Treaty, is available online. Everyone can look it up. So this agreement does not say a single word about the Armenian population of the Karabakh Khanate. Then in 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the independent Armenian state were established. In the day after establishing the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, it decided to transfer the city of Yerevan to Armenia as the capital. In 1921, the Caucasian Bureau decided to leave Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and not transfer it to Azerbaijan as some pseudo-historians interpret it”. Today, it is freedom for Azerbaijani people, while Armenian people aggressive war. Azerbaijan does not need foreign military forces. Our army has more than 100,000 fighters. If necessary, with mobilization, this number can be increased several times. Today, the armed formations available to us are fully capable of completing any task. The principles reached within the Minsk Group have been developed over many years. With Armenia's previous leadership, Azerbaijan actively moved forward in the process of coordinating positions. It was challenging. Negotiations are a difficult process in themselves, and even more so on such an important issue. Nevertheless, both sides showed a desire to follow the path of a political settlement. Unfortunately, after the current government in Armenia came to power, everything accumulated before was thrown into the wastebasket by the Armenian side. There was also an attempt to change the format of negotiations; to involve the authorities of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh republic" in the talks - something that the OSCE Minsk Group and Azerbaijan rejected. Azerbaijan’s position has always been very constructive and consistent. It also stems from the norms of international law regarding the implementation of 4 UN Security Council resolutions, which demand complete, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from our territories. Azerbaijan’s position has always been based on a pragmatic approach. The options that exist at the negotiating table clearly show it. The liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani districts is to be carried out in a phased manner. At the first stage, it is the south-eastern part of the occupied territories – five districts. The second stage is the territories located between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia – Lachin and Kalbajar districts. Then the opening of all communications, including communications situated in other parts of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their places of the original residence, which implies the return of Azerbaijani refugees to Shusha and other parts of the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region. Azerbaijani refugees should be returned to Shusha and other parts of the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region”. Speaking about the friendship between Russia and Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said: - “Azerbaijan and Russia are linked by centuries-old bonds of friendship, cooperation, and mutual understanding. I am sure that no force can influence this, although we see attempts from different directions to bring discord and some mistrust. But thanks to the consistent policy of both the Russian and Azerbaijani leadership, not only do we not fall back, but we actually move forward. Today Russia and Azerbaijan refer to each other as strategic partners. The interaction level between our countries can serve as an example to any neighbors. And I am sure that after the military phase of the conflict ends, and we move on to a political settlement – and we are ready to do this even tomorrow if the Armenian side abandons its attempts to forcefully return what it has lost and what does not belong to it – I believe that Russia will continue to play a leading role in stabilizing our region. The success of our army in recent days, the support of our citizens to our army in the return of our occupied territories is a manifestation that the Azerbaijani people are a determined people. This is a Patriotic War. We trust every citizen, especially the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. Karabakh is the ancient and eternal land of Azerbaijan. Karabakh is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!