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By deliberately trying to erase the Azerbaijani footprint in the occupied territories, Armenia is converting all place names to Armenian, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Oct. 25 at the 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement member countries in Baku.

“Nagorno-Karabakh, which is historical land of Azerbaijan, as well as seven districts adjacent to it, or almost 20 percent of the internationally recognized territories of our country, have been under Armenian occupation for more than 25 years,” Ilham Aliyev said. “Armenia has carried out a policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis. As a result, more than a million Azerbaijanis found themselves in the position of refugees and internally displaced persons. At that time, the population of Azerbaijan was 8 million people, and our country was in one of the leading places in the world for the number of refugees and internally displaced persons per capita. Armenia has committed the Khojaly genocide against Azerbaijanis.”

“As a result of the Khojaly genocide, 613 innocent people, including 106 women and 63 children, were brutally murdered just because they were Azerbaijanis,” the Azerbaijani president noted. “More than a thousand people went missing. The Khojaly genocide has been recognized by more than 10 countries of the world. The four resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in 1993 contain a requirement for the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the territory of Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, these resolutions have not been implemented. Sometimes Security Council resolutions are implemented in a matter of days, but it also happens that they remain on paper for 26 years, as is the case with the conflict Azerbaijan has faced.”

“There must be an end to this policy of double standards,” Ilham Aliyev added. “The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and other authoritative organizations have adopted resolutions and decrees requiring the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Taking this opportunity, I want to express my gratitude to the participating states for the support expressed in the documents the Non-Aligned Movement has adopted so far in relation to resolving the conflict in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.”

“Armenia has destroyed all historical monuments, mosques and cemeteries in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, plundered museums and our material and spiritual values,” the Azerbaijani president said. “By deliberately trying to erase the Azerbaijani footprint in the occupied territories, Armenia is converting all place names to Armenian. Contrary to international humanitarian law, Armenia also pursues an illegal resettlement policy in the occupied territories and engages in illegal economic activities.”

“In April 2016, as a result of the military provocation committed by Armenia, six Azerbaijani civilians were killed, including a child, 26 were injured, hundreds of houses were destroyed,” Ilham Aliyev added. “Karabakh is the original Azerbaijani land, and the conflict should be resolved only within the framework of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.”

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