Ilham Aliyev in Lachin: we destroyed Armenian fascism

 Azerbaijani army will never allow Armenian fascism to raise its head again, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his speech during a visit to the village of Gulabird, Lachin district. Yesterday, Ilham Aliyev, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva have visited Fuzuli, Zangilan, Lachin and Jabrayil districts, liberated from occupation. Ilham Aliyev laid the foundation of the Horadiz-Aghband railway in Fuzuli district.

"The city of Zangilan, as indeed other cities, has been destroyed by the enemy almost completely. Only several houses remain. These housed their military unit and police station. Armenians from abroad also lived here illegally," he said in Zangilan, noting that master plans of all cities are being prepared and the first “smart village” project will be implemented in Zangilan district. - the destroyed village of Aghali will be the first village to be restored.

"Transport projects play a special role in the long-term development of the region, ensuring stability and reducing military risks to zero. All the countries participating in them will only benefit from that. Azerbaijan connects with Nakhchivan and Turkey. At the same time, a railway line from Russia to Armenia may be opened. This line can only pass through the territory of Azerbaijan. In addition, a railway communication will appear between Russia and Iran through the territory of Nakhchivan. There will be a railway connection between Iran and Armenia. A railway link will be created between Turkey and Russia. In other words, all countries of the region will only benefit from this," the president of Azerbaijan said.

"This is Khandak village of Gubadli district. There were fierce battles here as well. Our army liberated these territories by destroying and driving out the enemy. The enemy also settled here illegally. They lived in very difficult conditions. Notice that their houses are no better than kennels. This is exactly meant when I said that Armenians lived in abject poverty in the occupied territories. Hunger, misery and lawlessness were pervasive. They used such dilapidated roads," he said.

"Muradkhanli village of Gubadli district. The Armenians lived here and destroyed it. Restoration work is already underway. This is Hakari village. Look at its condition. The Armenians lived in this kennel. These destroyed houses are a product of Armenian fascism. Let the whole world see this. This is Bala Soltanli village. Most of the houses here are destroyed, but some houses were illegally occupied by the enemy. This is also a war crime. The enemy has already received its due for all these crimes and will also respond at the international level. Yusifbayli village of Gubadli district. This village was also completely destroyed by the enemy," the Azerbaijani president said.

"We are in the southern part of Lachin district today, on the territory of Gulabird village. A hydroelectric power plant is opening in the village of Gulabird today. Less than two months after the liberation of Lachin district from occupation, a month and a half later, a hydroelectric power station is being commissioned here. The generating capacity of this hydroelectric power plant is 8 megawatts. Among small hydroelectric power plants, an 8-megawatt plant can be considered a medium-sized plant. The key thing is that the launch of this station will create generating capacities here and thus we will effectively use our nature, the Hakari River," he said.

"In the Kalbajar-Lachin zone, the natural conditions for hydroelectric power plants are very favorable. There used to be many stations here before. The contemptible enemy also used these stations during the occupation. But within 20 days after their capitulation, by 1 December, Armenia destroyed all these hydroelectric power plants, removed the equipment from here and demolished the buildings of the stations. The enemy has also destroyed the Gulabird hydroelectric power station. Otherwise, this station would have been serving us already from 1 December. But the instructions I gave were fulfilled in a short time and we are celebrating the opening of the Gulabird hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 8 megawatts today. This is the first power plant being commissioned on the liberated lands. It has great significance and great symbolic meaning. We are returning to these lands. We will restore all the hydroelectric power stations in Kalbajar and Lachin districts the Armenians illegally exploited for many years and destroyed them. On the territory of Lachin district alone, the enemy destroyed five hydroelectric power plants. All of them will be restored. A further 12 hydroelectric power plants will be reconstructed on the territory of Kalbajar district. Thus, the generating capacity of the stations that have been destroyed and will be rebuilt in Kalbajar and Lachin districts alone will amount to 120 megawatts. This is a very large generating capacity. Thanks to that, we will restore these territories and provide them with uninterrupted energy," AzerTAc cited him as saying.

"The overall significance of the Patriotic war lies in the fact that we have liberated our lands from occupation, expelled the enemy from our lands and also restored the territorial integrity of the country. We have demonstrated to the whole world the power of our people and state, have shown the unwavering spirit of the people. At the same time, having taken practical steps to achieve strategic goals related to the future of our country, we signed important documents. The joint statement signed on 10 November ensured the return of Lachin, Kalbajar and Aghdam districts, of course. We returned these lands without a single shot being fired. At the same time, it is this statement that secures a connection of Azerbaijan with its integral part of Nakhchivan. Also, this railway infrastructure will extend to Turkey, thus creating a second railway network connecting Azerbaijan and Turkey. Three and a half years ago, we put into operation the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway," the head of state stressed.

"Revanchist forces are trying to raise their heads in Armenia even today. They are trying to threaten Azerbaijan with more provocations and another war. They must understand that we are paying attention to everything, that we keep everything under control and will never allow Armenian fascism to raise its head again. We have destroyed Armenian fascism. We drove out the enemy out of our native lands, threw it out of here. It is safe to say that we have destroyed the Armenian army. There is no Armenian army. It has been defeated. There is neither equipment nor manpower left. They have acknowledged that they had 10,000 deserters during the war. There was not a single deserter in the Azerbaijani army. This testifies to the high morale of our people and our army. This is a manifestation of the current policy," he said.

"We won Victory on the battlefield. We liberated these lands from the invaders in battles. Having inflicted a defeat on Armenia, we forced it to sign an act of surrender on 10 November and return Lachin, Kalbajar and Aghdam districts to us because it never wanted to return Lachin and Kalbajar districts to us during the negotiations. This was the main reason for the lack of progress in the negotiations. Unfortunately, the position of Armenia and some of its foreign patrons consisted in returning five districts to Azerbaijan, so that Azerbaijan would be content with this and Nagorno-Karabakh would someday be given independence, while Kalbajar and Lachin districts would remain under the eternal control of Armenia. I rejected that offer," President Aliyev emphasized.

"Life has shown that by demonstrating a strong will and courage, we were able to achieve what we wanted. They didn't even think about returning Lachin district to us. Moving along the path I came here along today, liberating all the districts, villages and cities along the way, we came to these places. We liberated the southern part of Lachin district, the village of Gulabird from the occupiers. The villages of Safiyan and Turklar are located here. We also liberated them, creating a military foothold to control the Lachin corridor, which was already under our control. In essence, we conducted our strategic operations advancing from this direction. At the same time, advancing from the opposite side, from Khojavand district to Shusha, and passing through the mountains and gorges, we were able to conduct a successful operation. This southern part of Lachin district was liberated as a result of a military operation," the head of state noted.

"Our Victory is historic. We have restored historical justice. We have restored our rights, avenged our martyrs, took revenge and returned. Restoration work is under way now and will be continued. I have said that we will turn this region, Karabakh into a paradise. All instructions have already been issued. All work is being done and will be systematically done. From now on, we will live on these lands forever. Nobody can prevent us from living on these lands. Karabakh is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!"  Ilham Aliyev concluded.