Azerbaijan has a very rich history, and this is well known to both Azerbaijani scientists and Azerbaijani public, said President Ilham Aliyev.
He was addressing a general meeting marking the 70th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS).
President Aliyev further said Azerbaijan needs to fully show its history and realities on a global scale so that to show the country’s rich history.
“On the other hand, provocations are being carried out against us,” he said, adding that Armenians are trying to distort Azerbaijan’s history, and in some cases, taking advantage of diaspora, they achieve this.
The Azerbaijani president said "Armenian scientists" publish books and make presentations relating to the history of the region, the South Caucasus, on the basis of lies and fantasies.
“Our history is, of course, our greatest heritage,” said the president. “Our history shows that Azerbaijanis have lived for centuries on this land.”
He added that the present Armenia was created on historical Azerbaijani lands.
“It is enough to just take a look at the maps published by tsarist Russia in the early 20th century to see that the names of absolute majority of villages and towns, located on the territory of present-day Armenia, have Azerbaijani origins,” he said.
President Aliyev added that 70-80 percent of the population of Irevan Khanate was Azerbaijanis.
“I am very glad that a fundamental scientific work on the Irevan Khanate was created and translated into several foreign languages under my recommendation,” said President Aliyev. “These works are created on the basis of facts and realities.”
The president underlined that Nagorno-Karabakh is a native Azerbaijani land, noting that “Karabakh”, “Khankendi” are Azerbaijani words.
“I have repeatedly said that if Khankendi had any historical name, the Armenians would have restored it,” said the president.
He added that Khankendi was re named Stepanakert after Stepan Shaumyan, the chief of the Bolshevik Armenian gangster band.
“Everyone should know that it is our land and we have the right to live there,” said the president.
“Naturally, the international law supports our position. But the international community should also know that the issue is not limited to the international law,” said Aliyev. “It is our historic, age-old land.”
The president reminded that Armenians were resettled in Nagorno-Karabakh and some other territories from Iran and Eastern Anatolia.
“We know well for which purpose they were resettled there,” he said. “We should more widely spread this with books and thereby prove to the whole world that it is our historic, land,” Aliyev added.
The president also said the time has come to develop a comprehensive,m scientific work dedicated to the period of independence.
“We will mark the 25th anniversary of our independence,” said the president. “I believe that if such a solid scientific work is developed by that time, it can be a very good gift for our holiday.”
Furthermore, Ilham Aliyev noted that military industry has been created in Azerbaijan.
The Ministry of Defense Industry was created 10 years ago, said the president, adding that if this decision wasn’t made at that time, today, the country wouldn’t be able to benefit from the development of this industry.
The president pointed out that currently, Azerbaijan manufactures over 1,000 types of military products.
“Azerbaijan meets the major part of its army’s demand,” said Aliyev. “It is a historic achievement, especially, taking into account that we live in conditions of war.”
“In some cases, we can’t purchase the necessary equipment and weapons,” said the president. “In some cases, there is an embargo which has no grounds. But it is another question, and we were aware of that."
President Aliyev noted that today, domestic production allows to meet the demands of Azerbaijani army.
“I know that scientists participate in this process, but they should be more active,” said the president.
“Of course, we purchase modern technologies,” he said. “By purchasing this technology, we become familiar with it.”
Aliyev pointed out that in the future, the country will be able to produce all types of weapons it needs.
“We can at least use these samples,” he said. “Therefore, there is a wide sphere of activity for Azerbaijani scientists.”
Azerbaijani state, for its part, will try to attract more scientists to this process, the president added.
Trend