BAKU, Oct 5, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday set conditions for a halt to fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that would be near-impossible for Armenia to accept.
In a fiery address to the nation as fighting raged between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, Aliyev warned: “The leadership of Armenia should think carefully before it is too late”.
He said that Armenian forces “must leave our territories, not in words but in deeds” and that Yerevan must recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, apologise to the Azerbaijani people and admit that the region is not part of Armenia.
Repeating claims that Azerbaijan had seized a series of settlements, he vowed to keep fighting until the region was reclaimed.
“Nagorno-Karabakh is our land. We have to go back there and we are doing it now,” Aliyev said.
“This is the end. We showed them who we are. We are chasing them like dogs.”