Baku, June 4, AZERTAC

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan deserves to be included in the Guinness Book of Records because he “lied four times in just one sentence”. Addressing the 4th Congress of World Azerbaijanis, the President referred to the words of the Armenian leader at a recent summit of the Eurasian Economic Union. “He suggested that Azerbaijan committed these acts (provocation) in April, the "Nagorno-Karabakh army" took the situation under control and Azerbaijan had to ask Russia for the fighting to be stopped,” said President Ilham Aliyev. “I do not know of any other president who would lie four times in just one sentence.” “This clearly deserves to be included in the Guinness Book of Records, but as an anti-record,” said the Azerbaijani President.

Sargsyan, according to the Azerbaijani President, lied when he said that the Azerbaijani army retook 800 hectares of land. “I should note that the Azerbaijani army freed not 800, but more than 2,000 hectares of land from the occupiers. Currently, the Azerbaijani army controls a much larger area.”

President Ilham Aliyev called Sargsyan`s allegations that the Nagorno-Karabakh army controls the situation “a myth intended to mislead the international community”. “There is no "Nagorno-Karabakh army". The people serving in the Armenian armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh are citizens of Armenia.”

Referring to Sargsyan`s allegations that Azerbaijan asked Russia for the fighting to be stopped, President Ilham Aliyev said: “This is a lie.” “Azerbaijan did not make such a request,” he said, adding that it was Armenia that asked Russia for the ceasefire to be restored.

President Ilham Aliyev also highlighted the activities of Azerbaijan`s diaspora organizations. “In some cases, our diaspora organizations compete with each other. If it is a healthy competition, I can only welcome this. This competition should serve our common cause. Both in the country and abroad, we must demonstrate unity. Our strength lies in unity.”

“Diaspora organizations operating abroad should be united and consolidated. In this case, they will become even stronger and respect for them in society will further increase. If the public of foreign countries sees that Azerbaijani diaspora organizations do not get along with each other and actually work against each other, this, of course, is not good.”

The President said the State Committee for Work with Diaspora and ambassadors abroad should have strong links with diaspora organizations. He said that Azerbaijanis abroad had broad business opportunities. “Over the past 20 years, from 1995 to the present, more than $200 billion has been invested in the country's economy. “There is a good investment climate in Azerbaijan. The business environment is improving by the day. All bureaucratic obstacles are being removed. Full transparency is being ensured.” The President called on Azerbaijani businessmen living abroad to invest in Azerbaijan. He said situation in Europe was exacerbating. “There are new pockets of confrontation, conflict and instability. Where there is no stability, there will be no investment. In Azerbaijan, there is stability. The guarantor of this stability is the people of Azerbaijan.”

President Ilham Aliyev said all the Azerbaijanis living abroad should visit Azerbaijan at least once a year. “First, for communication with the homeland not be interrupted. Second, because there are excellent conditions in different parts of Azerbaijan. In Baku and our regions, there are beautiful and modern hotels for rest. There are recreation areas. I believe that Azerbaijan demonstrates its capabilities on a global scale. Of course, this will also benefit the country's economy, as we are now rapidly developing the tourism sector. For an even more dynamic development of this sector, we have carried out serious reforms related to visas, and we see that the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan is on the increase. Of course, we want to see the Azerbaijanis among them. If every Azerbaijani family living abroad comes to Azerbaijan at least once a year, I believe that it will be very good.”

He said the number of Azerbaijan`s embassies and consulates in the world was increasing. The President said that Azerbaijan had no problems in relations with foreign countries, except for Armenia. However, he said, one of the weak points was that “unfortunately, the Azerbaijanis are not represented at the appropriate level in different public and legislative bodies abroad”.

More than 500 diaspora delegates from 49 countries attend the two-day Congress. The participants include prominent foreign politicians, public figures, scientists, officials and parliamentarians, who have a friendly attitude toward Azerbaijan. A 360-man delegation comprising representatives of Azerbaijan`s state and government bodies, non-governmental organizations, scientific, educational, culture institutions, and political parties also attends the event.