Azerbaijan is celebrating one of its favorite national holidays – Nowruz Bayram. Since 2009 Nowruz has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, since that time March 21st has been declared as the International Day of Nowruz. "May your Novruz holiday be happy!" Azerbaijanis say, and believe that the cleansing flames of fires devour evil.
"The Azerbaijani people have always been faithful to their national-spiritual values," President Ilham Aliyev said at celebrations on the occasion of the Nowruz holiday. He touched on the most important topics for Azerbaijanis – the problem of the Karabakh settlement, noting that in this area there is no progress. "The main reason is Armenia's nonconstructive position, indifference, and in some cases provocations of those who are directly involved in this issue," the president said. According to him, the Azerbaijani people have not really believed in the activity of the Minsk Group, but the actions of the intermediaries in January of this year completely undermined this belief. The fact that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe made two resolutions drawn up on the basis of a deep analysis of the situation in the conflict zone. One of these resolutions, condemning the occupation of the Azerbaijani lands, was adopted by a majority vote. However, for the adoption of a second resolution, four votes were not enough.
The fact that the conflict remains unresolved is related not only to the position of Armenia
‘’The flagrant interference of the Minsk Group in the Council of Europe's work has led to this unpleasant situation,’’ Ilham Aliyev said. According to him, the mediators in the conflict visited the Council of Europe and there put pressure on the organization's leadership, so a second resolution was not adopted, as it supposedly creates a problem for resolving the conflict. "The same signals are sent not only to Strasbourg, but also by the ministries of foreign affairs of many European countries, so that the resolution would not adopted. We perceive this as a provocation,’’ Ilham Aliyev said.
This suggests that the fact that the conflict is still not resolved is connected not only with the Armenian position. The co-chairs of the Minsk Group received a mandate to directly address this issue, only froze the conflict with their destructive activities. Exceeding their powers, they interfere in the work of international organizations. Instead of resolving the conflict, they put forward a strange proposal that there is a need to strengthen security measures on the line of contact. "That is what it means. This means that even if the aggressor state feels comfortable, it will consolidate the occupation, the status quo even more,’’ the Azerbaijani President said, recalling that the heads of state, acting as intermediaries, have repeatedly declared that the status quo is unacceptable, it must be changed.
A strengthening of the status quo in Baku is believed to be the main reason for delaying the conflict, and call it a manifestation of double standards. ‘’The Azerbaijani state policy is based on international law, justice and cooperation. However, such provocative steps against us, of course, do not remain and will not remain unanswered,’’ Aliyev promised, saying that for the settlement of the conflict the country and the army must become even stronger. Much work is being done in this direction. Today, Azerbaijan has received full advantage on the line of contact, and opponents understand that without the political, economic and military support from outside, they will not be able to keep the occupied lands under occupation even for a week. "We are becoming stronger, we have to become stronger. The people of Azerbaijan will decide this issue, the president said. He reminded that Azerbaijan does not interfere in the internal affairs of any other country, is not involved in any adventure, and is engaged in business, developing the country and ensuring the welfare of the people. "We have never allowed and will not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs, as the Azerbaijani people are the masters of their own destiny," the president promised.
