Aliyev Issues Existence Threats Against Armenia During 2.5-Hour Interview

Harout Sasounyan, Publisher of the California Courier
On January 10, 2024, the tyrant of Baku, Ilham Aliyev, held a press conference lasting 2.5 hours with Azerbaijani journalists, during which he not only spread his latest lies but also threatened the very existence of Armenia.

Here are some notable points from Aliyev's overly arrogant and alarming statements, fueled by his military victories in the Artsakh wars of 2020 and 2023.

To start, Aliyev declared, “Today’s Azerbaijan is, in the true sense of the word, one of the strongest countries in the world.” This is false. According to globalfirepower.com, as of 2024, Azerbaijan's military ranks 59th in the world. This is far from being one of the strongest countries in the world. Without the direct oversight of Turkish generals and mercenary terrorists brought in from Syria during the 2020 Artsakh war, Azerbaijan would not have been able to achieve victory over Artsakh.

Aliyev admitted during his press conference that Azerbaijan enjoyed Turkey’s complete support during the 2020 war.

Aliyev justified Azerbaijan's serious human rights violations, even the genocide of Artsakh Armenians, stating, “I have repeatedly said that international law does not work. Those mechanisms are applied only to weaker countries. Major powers ignore them. For them, the law is not the law, international law is not the law. Under such circumstances, countries that demand justice, and justifiably so, must ensure that justice themselves.”

Aliyev acknowledged the difficulties faced by Azerbaijan’s armed forces during the 2020 war, saying, “If the war had continued [after November 10, 2020], it would have been very difficult to liberate the Kelbajar and Lachin regions, especially in winter conditions. Nevertheless, we would have done it, but our losses could have been extremely high, even more than during the 44-day war. We all knew this well because even now anyone who visits these regions can see how impassable that territory is. However, if Armenia had not signed the act of capitulation, we would have continued the war to the end.”

Aliyev’s next lie is that after the 2020 war, Armenia was “illegally transporting weapons, ammunition, mines, and personnel to Karabakh.” This never happened. Aliyev used this as a pretext to attack Artsakh.

The Azerbaijani president revealed that prior to the Azerbaijani attack on Karabakh on September 19, 2023, “some Armenians in the area contacted our representatives and made proposals regarding communications, and we did not refuse.” Any Armenian who established secret contact with the enemy should be considered a traitor.

Aliyev then made another significant confession. He stated that during the assault on Karabakh on September 19, 2023, “if they [the Armenians of Artsakh] had not surrendered, they would have been annihilated. There was no other option.” Thus, Aliyev confirms that the leaders of Artsakh had no choice but to surrender to save the lives of 120,000 Armenians.

Aliyev confirmed that he had planned the arrest of the leaders of Artsakh, who are now imprisoned in Baku: “Our position regarding the leaders of the separatists was unequivocal – their capture. Some of them tried to escape through the Lachin corridor, others were found in Khankendi [Stepanakert] and elsewhere. We knew their whereabouts.” He added that “only two people from that group are missing; they are in Yerevan,” referring to Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan.

Aliyev revealed that he personally warned Nikol Pashinyan about the imminent Azerbaijani assault on Artsakh on September 19, 2023: “I told both the Armenian leadership and international actors that I could press the button and carry out that action in one minute, and they would not be able to do anything.”

Aliyev also expressed his anger over Armenia's support from France, condemning that country’s colonial past and claiming that Paris allegedly committed genocide against 1.5 million Algerians.

He mocked the recent acquisition of French armored vehicles by Armenia, calling them “tin boxes” that “pose no real threat to us.”

Aliyev also rejected Pashinyan’s recent initiative, “Peace Intersection,” which is supposed to connect Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, and Iran. Aliyev said this is merely a PR campaign aiming to replace his preferred “Zangezur Corridor.” Ignoring Armenia's sovereignty, Aliyev insisted that Armenia should allow the transit of Azerbaijani cargo from Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan via Meghri without any checks or customs clearance. If not, Aliyev warned that Azerbaijan would continue to blockade Armenia.

The Azerbaijani president boasted that the ongoing “Peace Treaty” negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan no longer mention Artsakh.

Aliyev denied Pashinyan’s proposal to demarcate the mutual border between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on Soviet-era maps from 1975, preferring older maps that he claims give Azerbaijan even more territory. He also mentioned the laughable notion that “Yerevan” (the capital of Armenia) is an ancient Azerbaijani city. Aliyev also claimed that there are eight Azerbaijani villages located within Armenia’s territory.

Importantly, Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan will not withdraw its armed forces from segments of the Republic of Armenia that it has occupied since May 2021 and September 2022. He suggested that Armenia and Azerbaijan conclude a peace treaty now, leaving border demarcation for the future.

Faced with an arrogant and aggressive leader like Aliyev, Pashinyan must stop begging for peace, which is a sign of weakness, allowing Azerbaijan to demand even more concessions from Armenia. Armenia's two main priorities should be to have a competent leadership and a strong army to fend off threats from both of its enemies, Azerbaijan and Turkey.