Chronicles of Victory: Operational meeting was held under leadership of President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev at Central Command Post of Ministry of Defense on October 25, 2020

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 25. The
Azerbaijani Army launched a counter-offensive operation, later
called the "Iron Fist", on September 27, 2020, in response to the
large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the
frontline.

The erupted 44-day second Karabakh war ended with the
liberation of Azerbaijan’s territories from nearly 30-year Armenian
occupation and the restoration of territorial integrity.

An operational meeting has been held under the leadership of
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, victorious
Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev at the Central Command Post of the
Ministry of Defense with the participation of the leadership of the
Defense Ministry and the commanders of the joint corps located in
the frontline zone, Trend reports.

The head of state addressed the operational meeting.

Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev

- The war has been going on for about a month. During this
period, our country has achieved great successes on the
battlefield. Good news comes from the frontline every day. During
the day, I am regularly updated about the operations carried out in
the war zone and give relevant instructions. Almost every hour I
receive information about events in different regions. The Ministry
of Defense and other agencies keep me informed. Operational
meetings are held every day. In short, the situation is fully under
control. During this period, a part of our occupied lands has been
liberated from occupiers. More than 100 settlements – cities and
villages – have been liberated from the occupiers. The Azerbaijani
flag has already been hoisted in our liberated cities and villages.
Video footage of these cities and villages is available to the
Azerbaijani public, so everyone can see the state to which the
savage enemy has brought our cities and villages. There is not a
single building left there. All buildings, houses, administrative
buildings, social facilities, historical and religious sites have
been destroyed by the hated enemy. The occupied lands and ruins are
witness to Armenian vandalism. The Armenian state is responsible
for these crimes and will be held accountable for them.

I have ordered to conduct inspections in all liberated areas, to
register all the destruction, to draw up acts, to register the
destroyed property of our citizens. The Armenian state will
definitely be held accountable for these war crimes. Once again,
the whole world can see what kind of savages we are facing. Today,
Azerbaijani soldiers and officers are teaching the enemy a lesson
on the battlefield, are putting the enemy in its place, are driving
the enemy out of our lands. We shed blood, we have martyrs – both
among servicemen and civilians. Armenia cannot confront us on the
battlefield and, as always, fires on our civilian settlements. As a
result of this cowardly shooting, more than 60 civilians have been
killed and about 300 injured. Two days ago, National Hero Shukur
Hamidov died as a hero. Shukur Hamidov showed heroism in the
battles of April 2016. He was awarded the honorary title of
National Hero and I personally presented the National Hero star to
him.

I suggest that we observe a minute's silence in memory of all
our martyrs who died in the battles. May they rest in peace. I pray
to God to send healing to our wounded soldiers and civilians.

These days, we have seen again that Armenia does not intend to
leave our lands of its own accord. We have seen again that during
these 30 years, Armenia simply wanted to gain time, to imitate the
negotiations and to perpetuate the status quo. Unfortunately, the
international mediators were unable or did not want to put the
necessary pressure on the occupying state. Otherwise, four UN
Security Council resolutions would not remain on paper. I must also
note that a few days ago, the co-chairs held a meeting of the UN
Security Council. A document was put forward at the meeting that
did not meet our interests and was intended to draw a line through
the resolutions adopted in 1993. We strongly objected to this. This
is another manifestation of injustice, another manifestation of
double standards. The resolutions adopted in 1993 express a clear
position on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Resolutions
adopted in 1993 demand complete, immediate and unconditional
withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied
territories. The draft document initiated the other day did not
contain these provisions. In short, this step is viewed as yet
another provocation against Azerbaijan. We have raised our voice,
and I am glad that some of the members of the Security Council
objected to this even though they were pressured by major states.
However, these countries are members of the Non-Aligned Movement,
which is currently chaired by Azerbaijan. of course, their support
for Azerbaijan is highly appreciated and shows that there is a high
level of solidarity within the Non-Aligned Movement. In short, this
political step failed and no document was adopted. I think this is
another political victory for us. Just as we are winning on the
battlefield, we are winning in the political arena. Just as we are
driving the enemy away on the battlefield, we are also responding
to the provocative steps of the enemy's supporters. Azerbaijan is
not alone, our territorial integrity is recognized by the
international community and we operate within the norms of
international law – even though Armenia has repeatedly provoked us
during this period, fired on our military positions from Armenian
territory, fired on our settlements, fired two ballistic missiles
at Ganja from the territory of Armenia, as a result of which
innocent people were killed. Hundreds and thousands of shells are
fired at our cities and villages in Tartar, Aghdam and other
frontline regions every day, but the international community
remains tight-lipped over this. And so do the mediators. All they
are concerned about now is how to get Armenia out of this
situation. There is a way to do this – Armenia must withdraw from
our lands, it must get out of there. This is required by
international law. But no pressure is being put on them. On the
contrary, there are attempts to influence and put pressure on us.
Of course, no-one can influence us, no-one can influence our
resolve. I want our servicemen and citizens to know that there is a
very serious struggle – both on the frontline and in the political
arena. We shed blood on the battlefield, liberate our lands from
occupiers at the cost of the lives of these heroes, while at the
same time, we resist, show courage and defend our positions on the
political stage.

A ceasefire was declared at the request of Armenia and at the
suggestion of major powers twice and Armenia violated the ceasefire
both times. The first time, less than a day later, they bombed
Ganja. The second time they violated the ceasefire two minutes
after it was announced. This being the case, Azerbaijan gave them
and will continue to give them a decent rebuff, of course. We will
continue to drive the enemy out of our lands, all the way.

We have one condition: the countries that are so concerned about
Armenia, patronize them and create conditions for the Armenians to
occupy our lands for about 30 years should put pressure on Armenia.
The Armenian prime minister must declare that Armenia will withdraw
from the occupied territories. We have not heard such statements.
On the contrary, he talks of the self-determination of peoples and,
in fact, has disrupted the process of negotiations.

The ceasefire cannot be unconditional. They will deceive us for
another 27 years, for another 30 years. Delegations will be coming
here for another 30 years and negotiations will be held. We are fed
up and the patience of the Azerbaijani people is exhausted.
Twenty-eight years ago, the Minsk Group was established. They have
been deceiving us for 28 years. For 28 years, they have been
promising to us, asking us to wait, saying that they will put
pressure on Armenia, that they will do this and that. It was all a
lie. Everyone sees it now. I have always told my people the truth.
I have always said things the way they are. And I am saying that
today. I must say that Armenia is being armed. The most modern
weapons are being sent to Armenia every day. We have a list of
these weapons. We have all the information about the flights, when,
where and from which city they departed, when they arrived in
Yerevan and what they carried. During the current fighting, about
300 Armenian tanks have been either destroyed or taken as military
booty. Where does all this money come from? It is a poor country
with no money and no opportunities. They got it for free. Six S-300
anti-aircraft missile systems have been destroyed. Their price is
known. Where does this come from? TOR, OSA anti-aircraft missile
systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft which have already been
destroyed by Azerbaijan. Where did Tochka-U and SCUD come from? It
is given to them for free. We cannot remain silent about it.
Everyone should know this. We are fighting alone, on our own!

I am saying all this, first of all, for the people of Azerbaijan
to know the real situation. People should realize at what cost we
are liberating our lands from occupiers. People should know that if
Armenia had not received financial, military and political
assistance over the course of these 27-28 years, our lands would
have been liberated from the occupiers long ago, and peacefully.
Notice how Armenian soldiers are fleeing the battlefield. This
footage is available. Only some of these images are published in
the media but this is a very extensive video. Without these
weapons, without this political support, could Armenia have
occupied our lands? Of course not! As I said, we are driving them
away and will continue to do that. No-one can stand in front of
Azerbaijan. We are right, we are fighting on our own land, we are
restoring our territorial integrity, we have not crossed into the
territory of Armenia and have no such plans. If we had such an
idea, we would have done it a long time ago. It does not take much
effort to do so.

We have succeeded on the battlefield. At the same time, these
battles have shown that there are still drawbacks and shortcomings,
and we are eliminating them promptly. At the same time, after these
battles, after the end of the Second Karabakh War, all the
successes and shortcomings of the war must be seriously analyzed.
Although the Azerbaijani Army is one of the strongest armies in the
world today, we must continue to use more modern methods in army
building.

These battles are a great experience for us. We have seen that
some of the weapons in our military arsenal are not particularly
necessary in modern warfare. On the contrary, we have entered a
high-tech stage and, of course, technology and professionalism
contribute a lot to the success of any army. I have said this
before and I want to say again that it is the soldiers and officers
who are liberating our lands from the occupiers. They are raising
our flag and clearing the land from invaders. Therefore, in the
coming days – we will talk about that today – our military
operations must be conducted in a more effective manner and without
wasting time. In some cases, there have been delays. In some cases,
no justification can be provided for a delay. We are analyzing all
this and will continue to do so. I repeat – the Azerbaijani Army
shows great courage and professionalism. We lost our lands in the
early 1990s over several years, but parts of Fuzuli, Hadrut,
Jabrayil, Zangilan, Kalbajar and Gubadli districts have been
liberated from the occupiers in less than a month. Again, good news
comes from the frontline every day. It is true that some areas need
serious adjustments but, on the whole, we are reaching our goal.
Every day, a combat mission is set for the next day. I approve this
combat mission and it is possible to say that almost all of it is
fulfilled.

I am confident that Azerbaijan will restore its territorial
integrity. We are fighting on our own land. Justice is on our side,
international law is on our side, historical justice is on our
side. We must restore our territorial integrity, expel the
occupiers from our lands and ensure the sovereignty of our country.
I am confident that we will achieve this. But this, of course,
requires great responsibility, courage and discipline from every
official.

These days, I regularly address the people of Azerbaijan,
express my views and report on our successes. I want to assure the
people of Azerbaijan today that we will not turn back from the
right path! No force can affect our resolve. We will drive the
enemy away to the very end. We will restore our territorial
integrity!