Baku, January 1, AZERTAC

We have informed and are still informing the world about what happened in Khojaly. Did anyone talk about Khojaly until the last 17 years? It looked as though no such crime had ever been committed, as though this act of genocide had not happened. Because Armenia was trying to hush it up. It even wants to blame this war crime on Azerbaijan," said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the nation.

"Just like it did during the Patriotic War – after firing ballistic missiles at Ganja and other cities from the territory of Armenia, they said that Azerbaijan had done it itself. Can there be such a shameless country? Can there ever be such dishonest people? Apparently there can be. It is Armenia. Therefore, we have made tremendous efforts to communicate the truth about Khojaly to the world – both the state and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation."

"Today, 13 countries have officially recognized the Khojaly genocide as an act of genocide. We conveyed the truth about the war, the truth about the destroyed cities and villages to the world. However, we did not have the opportunity to go to those villages and cities. No international organization went there. UNESCO, which is trying to criticize us today, claims that we will not be able to protect Armenian religious sites here. However, this is a lie. Sites of all religions are protected in Azerbaijan. Did it go to those lands at least once? Has it ever been to the Shusha mosque? Has it ever been to the destroyed mosque in Zangilan? Has it ever been to the Aghdam mosque? The Armenians kept pigs and cows there. They are criticizing us now," said the head of state.

"Armenia would not allow anyone to go there, no-one! They did not even let the ambassadors of the countries chairing the Minsk Group go there. We have twice succeeded in getting the Minsk Group to send a fact-finding mission to the occupied territories. The last mission was 10 years ago. I would tell them every year why they were not going. Go and have a look, illegal settlement is under way. All our cities and villages are being destroyed. Our villages and cities are being renamed, our historical sites are being destroyed or Armenianized. They did not go there because Armenia would not let them. But who is Armenia not to let them go there?"

"Therefore, by doing all this work, we were bringing our Victory Day closer. If you look at my many previous speeches, you will see me saying that each of us must bring this sacred moment closer with our daily work, and we brought it closer, this holy moment of Victory has come," the President added.