Hikmet Hajiyev to Vestnik Kavkaza: Azerbaijan not afraid and not be afraid of Armenian aggression

Assistant to the Azerbaijani President, head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev gave an exclusive interview to the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza during his visit to Terter together with representatives of diplomatic corps and military attachés. Throughout their trip, including interviews, the Armenian Armed Forces were firing on Terter from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Hikmet Hajiyev emphasized that the trip to Terter and Barda, where 21 civilians were killed by cluster bombs yesterday, is intended to demonstrate the official representatives of foreign states and foreign journalists Armenia's war actions, violating the Geneva Conventions.

"We invited diplomats and journalists here so that they could see what is happening in Terter and Barda with their own eyes. As you can see and hear, the Armenian Armed Forces have already crossed all conceivable lines and conducting attacks even when there are officials of foreign states in the city," he drew attention, adding that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were also invited to visit these cities.

The presidential aide assured that Azerbaijan will continue diplomatic work to make an international assessment of the Armenian leadership's war crimes after the hostilities are over. "The atrocities committed by the Armenian army must be given a legal assessment, and therefore we make all such facts public and document them. There is a crime, which means there will be punishment. We will do our best to punish the barbarism," Hikmet Hajiyev said.

The politician also added that the leadership of Armenia has continued the same policy of crimes against humanity, which is well known to Azerbaijan from the origins of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in particular, the Khojaly genocide of 1992, when 613 residents of Khojaly were killed, including 63 children and 106 women.

"Azerbaijan makes a worthy response to the enemy along the entire front line, destroying commanders who gave orders to attack peaceful cities. The Azerbaijani people rallied around President Ilham Aliyev like a fist, and we will liberate our lands from occupation. You hear that the enemy artillery has started shelling us here in Terter, but we are not afraid and will not be afraid," he said.

On October 28, the Azerbaijani city of Barda was subjected to a massive missile attack by the Armenian armed forces. As a result of a missile strike, 16 men and five women were killed the day before, another 70 people, including eight children and 15 women, were injured of varying severity. On October 27, Barda region was also attacked with Armenia's reactive missiles, four people were killed, including a 7-year-old girl, 14 people, including 4 children, were injured.