Azerbaijani president: 'Fascism must be destroyed, either by Armenia's leadership or by us'
Ilham Aliyev’s interview with local TV channels
“We are neighbours with a fascist state, and the threat of fascism remains. That is why fascism must be destroyed. Either Armenia’s leadership will destroy it, or we will. There is no other way,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated in an interview with local TV channels.
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On January 7, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed to local TV channels.
“French president personally contacted many of them, urging them not to come to Baku“
According to Ilham Aliyev, the country faced an unexpected challenge during the preparation and hosting of COP29 in November last year, as attempts were made to boycott the event for political reasons:
“I don’t think any other country that hosted this event has faced such resistance. But we managed to overcome it. The boycott failed.
…Some countries, particularly France, did everything possible to discredit this event. I have information from my fellow presidents that the French president personally contacted many of them, urging them not to come to Baku. Even such methods were used to prevent leaders from attending. But it didn’t work. Eighty heads of state and government came to Baku. This once again demonstrated that Azerbaijan is regarded as a reliable partner.”
The President of Azerbaijan emphasized that this was the first COP where the President of the European Commission did not attend:
“Although the Commission President’s participation was confirmed a couple of months before the event. Moreover, at the initiative of the European Commission, a special session was planned to discuss the ‘Green Cable’ project with the participation of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania — countries involved in this project.
Again, this event was proposed by the European Commission, and we made room for it despite a very tight schedule, but the ‘last-minute cancellation of the visit’ came as a surprise. As far as I know, the COP29 Organizing Committee reached out to the European Commission, emphasizing that COP would last two weeks and that there was plenty of time to attend the conference.”
“Of course, COP29 was not affected by this, but the absence of the European Commission, which is a COP participant, certainly raises many questions,” he added.
“Armenia voluntarily, well, let’s say semi-voluntarily, returned these villages”
Answering a question about the return of four Azerbaijani enclaves that came under Armenian control during the First Karabakh War, Aliyev noted that this “happened not through dialogue but monologue”:
“Because it is clear that dialogue with Armenia had been unsuccessful for decades. Armenia’s occupation policy did not envision any dialogue; they used the negotiation format as a cover to continue the occupation. And the information that has recently surfaced in the press — namely, the fascist statements of Armenia’s first president — once again confirms what we have known for quite a long time: that Armenia had no intention of freeing even a single centimetre of Azerbaijani territory. They felt, as they believed, quite comfortable, receiving billions of dollars in free arms from one ally and political and moral support from two others.”
“This I tell you as someone who, since 2004, has been engaged in negotiations within the Minsk Group framework and has met with this ‘trio’ numerous times. Therefore, we could not expect to regain these territories or restore territorial integrity through dialogue,” said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
He noted that several factors contributed to Armenia’s voluntary—or, let’s say, semi-voluntary—return of the villages:
“First, the Patriotic War and its outcomes. Second, the anti-terrorist operation. I believe it fully dispelled any illusions among the Armenian leadership that anyone would stand with them against Azerbaijan.”
The President also mentioned that another meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian delimitation commissions is scheduled for January 2025:
“We have presented our methodological approach to the Armenian side, and based on the oral response we received, I’ve been informed that there are no major objections from their side.”
“Things could have been completely different”
Addressing the significant share of Azerbaijan’s state budget allocated to military spending in 2025, Ilham Aliyev explained the reasoning behind this decision:
“The ongoing rearmament process in Armenia is undoubtedly a new threat factor for the South Caucasus. I’ve spoken about this before and will reiterate: we cannot be passive observers. I’ve also repeatedly told the Armenian leadership that this could pose a new threat. Meanwhile, those who appear to be backing Armenia and inciting it to new provocations against Azerbaijan are unlikely to support it to the end—just as they failed to do so in 2020 and afterwards. Not because they don’t want to, but because Azerbaijan simply won’t allow them to.
That’s why a significant portion of Azerbaijan’s state budget will be spent on military and security issues. As I’ve said before, we’ll allocate 4 billion manats for the reconstruction of Karabakh and East Zangezur and 8.4 billion manats for military and security matters. Things could have been completely different.
But Armenia’s arms race compels us to channel financial resources toward military issues in addition to our core priorities. I’ve also said that Armenia cannot compete with us in this arms race. However, we must consider another issue: this weaponry is being provided to Armenia either for free or on credit, which is eventually written off. This includes funding from the so-called European Union Peace Fund—a misnomer, as a peace fund should be used for peaceful purposes. Yet their peace fund allocates resources for armaments. The first payment has already been made, and according to our information, it won’t be the last.”
“Fascism must be destroyed, either by Armenia’s leadership or by us”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized Armenia’s militarization, warning that it “will only lead to new tensions”:
“We do not want this. We want peace. We want to turn the page on war. However, it is evident that both Armenia and its new patrons have no such desire. They cling to revanchist ideas, making Armenia a source of threat to the region.
“An independent Armenian state is essentially a fascist state. For nearly 30 years, this country was ruled by proponents of fascist ideology who shaped it in their image. Look at the racist and fascist statements of Armenia’s first president, as vile as they are dangerous. He portrayed ethnic cleansing as a source of pride, boasting about the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from their ancestral lands. This has recently come to public attention, but it was always known in Armenia. Of course, Armenia’s allies and patrons also knew and shared these views.
The 30-year policy of occupation against us is not solely the product of Armenia. It is a collective creation of Islamophobic, Azerbaijani-phobic, racist, and xenophobic circles in foreign countries that aligned with Armenia.
We are neighbours to such a fascist state, and the threat of fascism persists. That is why fascism must be destroyed. Either Armenia’s leadership will destroy it, or we will. There is no other way, Aliyev said.
The president also issued a direct demand: “Armenia must immediately stop its militarization. France and other countries supplying weapons to Armenia must cancel these contracts. Any arms already delivered must be returned. This is our condition. Interpret it however you wish. I mean what I say, and both they and their backers know that when we speak, we are serious.
“I hope all our terms for a peace agreement will also be accepted, as they contain nothing extraordinary. Without dismantling the Minsk Group and amending Armenia’s constitution, a peace treaty is impossible. If Armenia does not want a peace treaty, then neither do we. We can live and pursue our policies without it.”
“Zangezur Corridor must and will be opened”
Speaking about France, Aliyev criticized recent political actions:
“What is happening in France’s political arena is clear to everyone. Yesterday, the French president once again made absurd accusations against Azerbaijan. It seems Mr. Macron cannot live without Azerbaijan. He is obsessed with blaming us for all his problems. If we are so influential that we can allegedly interfere in France’s internal affairs, then we should take pride in that. In reality, his remarks only highlight his helplessness. The president of a country he calls great is supposedly suffering because of a nation of 10 million people far away in the Caucasus region, even though we have no interest in France’s domestic issues. This irrational and inadequate approach has brought things to this point, and Armenia must carefully consider this.
“In the U.S., the Soros era is also over. The Biden administration essentially operated in a Soros-like style, and it’s no coincidence that one of Biden’s final acts was awarding Soros the highest U.S. honour. But these Soros-like forces are losing ground. Armenia’s leadership must take note of this as well.
“They must understand that even the dictatorship of their close ally in the Middle East, Assad, has been consigned to history’s scrapheap, and this trend will continue. Armenia must make the right decisions. Azerbaijan is not a threat to them. We want peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus and simply want them not to obstruct us.
They should not act as a geographic barrier between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Zangezur Corridor must and will be opened. The sooner they understand this, the better. We cannot remain in this situation. Why should we take roundabout routes to reach Nakhchivan, an integral part of Azerbaijan? We need a direct connection, which does not compromise Armenia’s sovereignty. They are obligated to fulfil the terms of the November 10 declaration, which clearly outlines this.
“For over four years, we have exercised patience, trying to resolve this through negotiations. How much longer must we wait, and why? They must understand that the voice of authority lies with us. Azerbaijan is the leading economic and military power in the South Caucasus. In today’s world, strength is what matters, and no one should forget this,” Aliyev concluded in his interview.
