SHUSHI (News.am) — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the occupied Armenian city of Shushi on November 8 and made a number of statements. Threats against Armenia dominated his speech.
To begin with, Aliyev said that next year Azerbaijan’s military budget will reach a record high. “Azerbaijan’s state budget for next year will reach a record level, including funds allocated for military expenditures. One may ask why, the war is over, two years have passed. The answer is very simple. Revanchist forces are raising their heads in Armenia. There are forces and circles in Armenia which do not want to accept the results of the war,” Aliyev explained.
Aliyev further stated that “Armenia does not fully comply with the Statement of November 10, 2020, has not fully withdrawn its armed forces from Karabakh,” although not only the statement does not suggest this, but Armenian troops have never been in Artsakh. “Armenia has not given us the Zangezur corridor and periodically carries out military provocations against us. Of course, we have to be ready, and we are,” Aliyev complained.
Aliyev added that Azerbaijan “wants peace, does not want war.”
“We want peace, but a just peace. The conditions we put forward are fair, based on international law, and a peace treaty must be signed on the basis of those conditions. If Armenia shows its will, it (peace treaty) will be signed, if not, it will not be signed. Life will show what will happen next,” the Azerbaijani president said.
Aliyev repeated his favorite phrase that “our patience is not unlimited, and if Armenia does not fulfill its commitments, Azerbaijan will take the necessary steps.” “We are fulfilling all the commitments we made in the November 10, 2020 statement. We have been fulfilling them for two years, but is Armenia fulfilling them? No! Right after the second Karabakh war, he (Pashinyan) was just so scared that he implemented these provisions and returned the occupied territories of the Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin regions to us without a single shot fired,” Aliyev said.
