“ Shusha was under occupation for 28 and a half years. Shusha has a special place in the history of Azerbaijan. This is our old, historical city. For centuries, Azerbaijanis have lived, built and created in Shusha. Shusha is a pearl of not only Azerbaijan, but also of whole Caucasus. However, by occupying Shusha, the hated enemy dealt a great blow to our cultural heritage, destroyed our historical monuments, destroyed our mosques and insulted us. We have now returned to Shusha. We will restore all our historical monuments, all mosques, in 28 years the sound of the call to prayer will be heard again in Shusha.”

Address of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

to the nation in the Alley of Martyrs

(8 November 2020)

“ Today, after the end of the war, some Western leaders from Western circles are raising the question of what will happen to Christian temples in the liberated lands under the control of Azerbaijan? They express concern both during conversations with me and in official statements. No one should worry, especially the leaders of Western countries, who ignite Islamophobic feelings. Those who close their eyes to the insults of the saints of Islam and even justify those who insult them. They have no right to talk about it, this is the first. Second, all the temples in our territory are our historical treasure. Baku hosts the Baku Humanitarian Forum or the Forum of Intercultural Dialogue anually. Azerbaijan hosted summits of leaders of world religions. Look, see what was said about us. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation cites the attitude towards Islam in Azerbaijan as an example. Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill praised the work done in Azerbaijan in this field during his visit to Baku. Visited Orthodox churches. Pope Francis spoke about tolerance, religious tolerance and multiculturalism in Azerbaijan in his official speech during his visit to Baku. Who can criticize us? Those who closed mosques? Or will those who throw the heads of killed pigs into Muslim mosques teach us a lesson and express concern? We do not need express of any concern. All our historical monuments are protected by the state. Two Orthodox churches are being repaired on my instructions and at the expense of the state, and the third church has been repaired. An administrative building is being built. During the war, the church of our Udi brothers was repaired and put into operation by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Our Caucasian Albanian churches are our national treasure. Our Georgian churches, Armenian church. The savage enemy kept cows and pigs in this mosque. These pictures are on the internet. The enemy kept pigs in the liberated Zangilan mosque, Jabrayil mosque.”

From the speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev in front of the Aghdam mosque (23 November 2020)

“ During my visit to the liberated territories, I witnessed the state of our lands. I knew about it and read the materials on the Internet. There was not a single safe building in Fizuli, everything was destroyed. Not a single building was found where we could raise our flag. The only building in Aghdam that has not been completely destroyed is the mosque. The investigation revealed that they had kept the mosque building in Aghdam to measure the distance.”

“We have already started legal proceedings against the actions committed against our cities. We have called on our international partners to conduct an appropriate analysis of the damage to our civilian population, infrastructure, religious and cultural monuments. Everything will be documented and we will take the necessary steps in accordance with such conditions. Illegal settlement is a war crime.”

From the speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev while receiving the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs from

France and the United States (12 December 2020)

“Foreign journalists visiting the former city of Aghdam, the site of its remains, call it the "Hiroshima" of the Caucasus. I think this is worse than Hiroshima. Because Hiroshima was a nuclear tragedy, an atomic strike. But a group of vandals and barbarians did not pass through. As for us, the city of Agdam was destroyed after the occupation. Like the city of Fizuli, it was deliberately destroyed. When we liberated Aghdam, when I ordered the Azerbaijani flag to be raised over one of the houses in the city, they said that there was no such building, not a single building left in the big city where thousands, tens of thousands of people lived. They were all destroyed. This is a war crime. Not only cities but all villages were destroyed. This is a situation that the world may not have seen in recent centuries. The same words apply to the city of Jabrail. It no longer exists. Some buildings remain in illegally settled cities, especially in Kalbajar region, Kalbajar city. However, within 20 or 15 days, when the Armenians had to leave, from November 10 to December 1, the Armenians set fire to and destroyed those buildings. They even destroyed houses they had not built. They simply moved to the homes of Azerbaijanis. They burned everything and carried it away. They cut down trees, even cut down trees they could not sell, and threw them away on roads. They burned the forests. Therefore, this vandalism, unfortunately, has continued until now.”

From the speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev at the meeting of the CIS

Council of Heads of State held in video conference format

(18 December 2020)

“Look at what the hated enemy has done to this mosque. All our religious monuments were destroyed by the enemy. World remained silent to this during 30 years. We have repeatedly raised this issue, raised it from the international arena, our historical and religious monuments have been destroyed and insulted. We showed those videos many times. Pointing to the condition of the Aghdam mosque, the Shusha mosques, and other mosques under occupation at the time, we said that the hated enemy had destroyed and insulted our religious monuments.

After the liberation of Zangilan, video footage of keeping pigs was shown in one of the mosques in the region. The enemy has insulted our religion, insulted all Muslims. There was a mosque here, but now it is gone, they destroyed it. Now some are raising the issue of the religious heritage of the Armenian people in the liberated lands. So why has no one raised the issue of our national and religious heritage? Recently, a UNESCO official made an unfounded statement that we were allegedly addressed, but Azerbaijan remained silent. We have repeatedly appealed to UNESCO for 30 years, repeatedly stated that our mosques have been destroyed, our historical monuments have been destroyed, our historical monuments have been Armenianized, has a mission been sent once? Has our request been answered once? As soon as the war ended, they started to protect the monuments of the Armenian people. We protect all monuments, we protect the monuments of all nations, and the world knows it. But look, see, there was a mosque here, UNESCO, come here, come see. Council of Europe do not remain silent, come and see here! All mosques have been destroyed. Well, can the mosque be demolished? So, is it not a crime to demolish a mosque? How long will this injustice last? How long will this hypocrisy last? How long will these double standards last? How long will this Islamophobia last? It was the Armenians who destroyed it. Does a civilized person who tries to create the image of a civilized nation and is even accepted by some foreign patrons do so? Does a civilized person keep pigs in the mosque? Let the whole world see it! Let the Muslims of the world and let the nations of the Muslim countries see it.”

From the speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev in front of the mosque destroyed by the enemy in Zangilan

(23 December 2020)

“Our religious monuments are protected and will be protected. All our major religious monuments have been repaired on my instructions. Many were rebuilt, including the Heydar Mosque, which was rebuilt on my instructions. Our other mosques have been overhauled. Their repair was carried out in order to protect their appearance. Azerbaijan shows the world how rich its cultural heritage is in this area as well. Shamakhi Juma Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in the world, is located in our country, was built in 743, and was actually rebuilt on my instructions. Or monuments belonging to Christianity, Albanian churches, Kish church, Khudavang church. The liberated church of Khudavang has been returned to its owners, our Udi brothers. Although the Armenians changed its name and changed its appearance as a result of fraud, they tried to Armenianize it, but failed. Our Udi brothers have already performed their worship in the Khudavang Church. All other churches belonging to Caucasian Albania, including the church in the town of Nij. This church, renovated by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, was opened during the war, and this is the best answer to those who make baseless accusations against us. During the war, the Albanian-Christian church was inaugurated after renovations. Russian Orthodox churches, synagogues, Catholic churches, Georgian churches, Armenian church in Baku - all these are protected by the state. But look at what our enemies have done to our mosques. More than 60 mosques have collapsed in occupied and liberated lands, and no one is reacting to this. No international organization condemns Armenia. We protect the Armenian Church. We have no problems with the Armenian people, and Armenians living in Azerbaijan are our citizens. Today, Armenians living in the Karabakh region, I am sure, already understand that they can live normally only within the Azerbaijani state.”

“ We have implemented various projects not only in Azerbaijan, but also in some countries. In particular, we have played an active role in the restoration of both Muslim and Christian religious monuments. The example of a multicultural society in Azerbaijan should be an example for many countries. I'm not saying that, it's what the world's religious leaders are saying. Let them pay attention to the statements of Pope Francis, who visited Baku. Let them pay attention to the statements of the leaders of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Let them watch the speeches of other religious leaders, Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim religious leaders who have repeatedly visited Baku. Who can accuse us that the monuments of other religions are in danger in Azerbaijan? Novice politicians, populists, some black politicians who do not know about our region, but follow the orders of the Armenian lobby or work for it, can criticize us. Is there a basis for these remarks? No. Proof of my word is our several-volume works. Let them go and see what Armenians have done to Muslim monuments?! Why hasn't UNESCO raised the issue for 30 years? We have applied many times. These appeals were documented in the form of letters. Two years ago, the new UNESCO leadership was asked to send a mission. Let a mission come to the occupied territories to see how they have ruined our historical monuments. What was the response of the UNESCO leadership? They said that we do not want to politicize the issue. Well, two years ago you did not want to politicize the issue, but now why do you want to politicize? Let them answer, a very simple answer, a logical answer. There is no answer. I appealed to them in Zangilan. I said, open your eyes and see what the Armenians have done to our mosque. Did a reaction come from there? No! This is what the Armenians destroyed. So what have we destroyed? What have we done? We have only repaired and protected.”

From the speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev during the reception of Anar Karimov

in the video format on the appointment of the Minister of Culture

(5 January 2021)