By President Ilham Aliyev

Copyright trend

BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev called on the international community
during his speech at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly,
Trend reports.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

– Ladies and Gentlemen,

For many years, I spoke from this tribune about the tragedies of
aggression, occupation, and injustice experienced by Azerbaijan.
Today, I will speak about our long road to victory and peace, and a
new era in Azerbaijan’s history, about how we managed to end the
occupation through a liberation war, and how we won peace by
political means.

For nearly three decades, almost twenty percent of Azerbaijan’s
sovereign territory remained under military occupation by Armenia.
One million Azerbaijanis were expelled from their homes as a result
of the policy of ethnic cleansing and war crimes conducted by
Armenia. Their fundamental human rights were grossly violated. Four
United Nations Security Council resolutions, adopted in 1993,
demanded the immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of
Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories. Sadly, these
resolutions were never implemented. Armenia demonstratively ignored
them because no sanctions were imposed on it by the international

The OSCE Minsk Group, established in 1992 to facilitate a
settlement, has failed in its mission. Instead of enforcing the
norms and principles of international law, its co-chairs sought to
preserve the status quo and keep the conflict frozen.

In 2020, after almost 30 years of ineffective negotiations,
Azerbaijan was forced to exercise its legitimate right to
self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. During the war,
Armenia shelled our towns and cities, launched ballistic missiles
and used cluster munitions, killing more than a hundred innocent
civilians. Azerbaijan, in its turn, conducted the war in strict
compliance with international humanitarian law. We ensured the
protection of civilians and refrained from targeting non-military
infrastructure. In the 44-Day Patriotic War, our armed forces
liberated occupied territories and restored Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity in accordance with international law and
relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The 10 November 2020 marked the capitulation of Armenia and
restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity after nearly 30
years of occupation.

Right after our victorious war, Azerbaijan declared its
readiness to open a new page in relations with Armenia based on
mutual recognition of territorial integrity and sovereignty. We
proposed five basic principles rooted in international law. We
tabled the proposal for a Peace Treaty. Then we initiated a
negotiation process on its draft text, which lasted from October
2022 to summer 2025. Despite several attempts to derail the
process, the negotiations produced positive results, as they were
conducted on a strict bilateral basis, free from any kind of
external interference.

On August 8 this year, the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and
Armenia in Washington, in the White House, in the presence of the
leaders of the United States, Azerbaijan and Armenia initialed the
text of the peace agreement. The same day, the President of
Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia signed the Joint
Declaration. President of the United States Donald Trump also
signed it as a witness. Moreover, Azerbaijan and Armenia jointly
appealed for the closure of the OSCE Minsk Group and related
structures, as an obsolete mechanism no longer relevant to the
peace process. Accordingly, on 1 September, the OSCE adopted a
decision to permanently close these structures.

Regional connectivity has been at the core of our vision for
lasting peace. Another key outcome of the Washington Summit is the
“Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), which
will ensure unimpeded access through the Zangazur corridor and
foster regional connectivity.

The recent Washington Summit has also signaled a new phase in
Azerbaijan-US relations. Together with President Donald Trump, we
signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments
regarding the establishment of a Strategic Working Group to develop
a Charter on strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the
United States. It opens new horizons for partnership in political,
economic, energy, regional connectivity, defense, security, and
other fields.

The waiver by President Trump of the sanctions imposed on
Azerbaijan in 1992, in the form of the Section 907 of the Freedom
Support Act, is a historic step as well. The permanent removal of
Section 907 by the US Congress would eliminate a legacy of double
standards and help strengthen trust and cooperation at a time when
Azerbaijan is contributing to global security and stability.

Overall, the agreements reached during my August visit to the
United States carry historic significance.

I want to express my gratitude to President Donald Trump for
opening a new chapter in the US-Azerbaijan relationship, for his
decision to elevate it to the strategic partnership level, and for
his support to the peace process between Azerbaijan and

Right after the victory in the Patriotic War of 2020, Azerbaijan
started the large-scale reconstruction program in the liberated
territories. During the time of occupation, Armenia levelled to the
ground hundreds of Azerbaijani cities and villages, deliberately
ruined 65 mosques. That was the policy of Armenia, which was ruled
by war criminals for almost 30 years. We are rebuilding villages
and cities razed to the ground. Under the Great Return Program,
already more than 50,000 people live, work, and study in the
liberated territories.

One of the gravest humanitarian challenges facing Azerbaijan in
the post-conflict period is the landmine contamination during the
time of Armenian occupation. Since November 2020, more than 400
Azerbaijani civilians and military personnel have been killed or
seriously injured by landmine explosions. This massive
contamination obstructs the safe return of displaced persons and
delays reconstruction projects.

Similarly, the tragic fate of nearly four thousand Azerbaijanis
who went missing during the Armenian aggression and occupation
since the early 1990s continues to require close attention and

Ladies and gentlemen,

Coming to the global challenges we are facing, we believe that
the response must be inclusive, fair, and universal.

Through its many initiatives, Azerbaijan has shown its clear
commitment to advancing sustainable solutions.

Azerbaijan is proud to have hosted COP29 last year, where we
achieved important outcomes in advancing climate action, the green
transition, and equitable access to financing. As the host of
COP29, we guided negotiations towards ambitious and balanced
outcomes, ensuring that all voices, particularly those of the
developing world, were heard.

The adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) at
COP29, also known as the Baku Finance Goal, is a historic milestone
in global climate finance. This commitment brings the previous 100
billion USD annual climate finance goal to at least 300 billion USD
per year through 2035 from public sources in developed countries to
developing countries. Azerbaijan also successfully finalized the
long-awaited framework for carbon markets under Article 6 of the
Paris Agreement, making the Paris Agreement fully operational nine
years after its adoption. Several key agreements were signed at
COP29 to make the Loss and Damage Fund fully operational, providing
critical support for vulnerable communities impacted by climate

Being strongly committed to the green transition, we at the same
time should not put unrealistic targets in front of us. The world
cannot live without fossil fuels today and in foreseeable

Energy security is closely linked to peace, regional
connectivity, and economic development. Azerbaijan continues to
play a proactive role in advancing these objectives globally.
Azerbaijan has established itself as a reliable and indispensable
partner in providing energy security to many countries. We play a
strategic role connecting the Caspian region with international
markets through a diversified oil and gas pipeline system.

As of today, we are supplying natural gas to 14 countries. This
ranks Azerbaijan as the top country in the world in terms of the
number of countries it supplies with pipeline gas. This reflects
our strategic role in enhancing energy security and diversifying
supply routes across Europe and beyond. Moreover, Azerbaijan and
Syria have recently strengthened their bilateral partnership,
focusing on energy supply, infrastructure development, and
post-conflict reconstruction. Since August this year, Azerbaijan
started to supply Syria with natural gas via Türkiye, significantly
reducing its electricity shortages.

Azerbaijan also attracts large investments in renewable energy
sources like solar, wind, and hydro power. Almost 40 % of our
energy will be generated by renewables by 2030.

Connectivity projects, like the East-West and North-South
Corridors, cross our country. We have witnessed almost 90% growth
in cargo volumes through the Middle Corridor since 2022. The
transit times along the Corridor have been significantly reduced.
The biggest trade fleet in the Caspian, Alat International Trade
Port, with its annual capacity reaching 25 million tons in the near
future, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, 9 international airports,
the biggest air-cargo company in the region, and many other factors
have turned Azerbaijan into one of the international transport

There is a great potential for cooperation in digital
connectivity. Azerbaijan leads the digital transformation
initiative through such ambitious projects as the Digital Silk Way.
This project includes plans for an advanced fiber-optic cable
network under the Caspian Sea, establishing Azerbaijan as a key
regional digital hub.

Azerbaijan achieved significant economic growth by focusing on
diversifying its economy beyond oil and gas, developing the non-oil
sector, and improving the investment climate through reforms and
transparency. Reducing poverty and unemployment to a historic low
of 5% is another achievement of our country.

Recently, two major international rating agencies (Moody’s and
Fitch) have increased Azerbaijan’s ranking. Azerbaijan was provided
with a favorable investment-grade status, citing very strong
external balance, low public debt, and substantial sovereign wealth
assets as key strengths. This underscores our economic resilience,
strong fiscal discipline, and favorable investment climate. Our
foreign debt is only 6.5% of GDP, which is one of the lowest in the
world. Azerbaijan’s foreign exchange reserves exceed its foreign
debt almost 16 times.

Back in 2022 at the Summit of the Caspian Littoral States I
raised the issue of environmental degradation of the Caspian Sea.
Today situation is much worse. Caspian Sea is shrinking rapidly.
The main reason is not climate change. Joint efforts of littoral
states are needed to stop ecological catastrophe with unpredictable
consequences. Azerbaijan also is ready to cooperation closely with
the UN to tackle this problem.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Azerbaijan is proud of its global humanitarian assistance
efforts. We are providing aid to countries affected by natural
disasters, conflicts, and public health emergencies. Azerbaijan
contributed to the COVID-19 response, donating and financing
protective equipment, medical devices, and vaccines to over 80
countries in need.

Azerbaijan has entered a new era. We won, both in war and in
peace. We ended the occupation and started reconstruction. Justice
has triumphed, sovereignty has been consolidated, and peace is
de-facto reached. We stand prepared to share our positive
experience.

The achievements of recent years are not only a victory and
success for Azerbaijan. They are also a demonstration that
international law must ultimately prevail.

Our vision is clear: peace and development based upon
international law, non-interference in the internal affairs of
States, mutual respect, and cooperation.

Let us together build a world without double standards, where
justice is not selective, the rule of law is respected, and peace
is achieved not through words alone, but through actions.