Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev addressed a meeting with ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions of Muslim countries in Azerbaijan, which was held on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.
"Azerbaijan has very close relations with Muslim countries. We actively cooperate on a bilateral basis and support one another in the international arena. We enjoy successful cooperation especially with the countries represented in the UN and other international organizations,” President Aliyev said.
"Azerbaijan is an active member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Many prestigious events were held in Azerbaijan under the auspices of this organization," Aliyev recalled, noting that OIC member countries reaffirmed their support for Azerbaijan at the summit held in Turkey last year.
At the same time, Ilham Aliyev stressed that Azerbaijan supports Muslim countries in all international organizations. "At last year’s summit, OIC member states took important steps in connection with the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and adopted several resolutions and documents in support of Azerbaijan’s right stance on the settlement of the conflict,” the president stressed.
He also recalled that last year a Contact Group was created within OIC to deal with Armenia’s aggression. "We highly appreciate the creation of the Contact Group. The support and solidarity provided by Muslim countries are highly important for us. I’m grateful to OIC member countries for their support," he added.
Ilham Aliyev noted that Armenia still continues the occupation of part of the Azerbaijani territories by grossly violating the norms of international law and ignoring the four resolutions of the UN Security Council.
He also pointed to the destruction by Armenians of historical and religious monuments in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. "Armenians destroyed our historical and religious monuments in the occupied territories, and this fact is confirmed by numerous documents and video materials," he said.
The head of state stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and in accordance with the norms and principles of international law. "We get the realities about the conflict across at all international organizations. Of course, we convey these realities to Muslim countries as well so that our brothers living in these countries could know the atrocities committed by Armenians in our occupied territories. This brutality was committed against not only Azerbaijan, but the whole Muslim world,” he added.
President Aliyev noted that the mosque recently erected in the liberated village of Jojug Marjanli is comparable to the Shusha Mosque in terms of architectural design. “Mosques in Shusha, Agdam and other occupied cities have been destroyed by Armenians. This crime is against the entire Muslim world. We want all Muslims in the world to know it,” he said.
Azerbaijan contributes to the strengthening of Islamic solidarity, Aliyev said. "As you know, 2017 was declared the ‘Year of Islamic Solidarity in Azerbaijan’. On this occasion, many events were held in our country, as well as in other countries. The declaration of this year as the ‘Year of Islamic Solidarity’ demonstrates our policy and intention,” he said, adding that Muslim countries should solve problems among themselves peacefully and strengthen solidarity.
The president also spoke about the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games recently held in Azerbaijan. “Athletes from numerous Muslim countries took part in the Games. We had many guests. I hope that they returned to their countries with the most pleasant impressions,” he said.
The president added: “The Islamic Solidarity Games are not just a sporting event. We wanted these Games to unite the Islamic world. Being in Baku, athletes and guests lived as one family, and I’m sure that during these days, Islamic solidarity reached its peak. We, in turn, should try to maintain the Islamic solidarity at this level. I’m confident that this will happen.”
