BAKU - President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan’s long-term course remains centered on independence, statehood, economic self-reliance, a strong military and the effective use of national resources.
Aliyev made the remarks on Oct. 2 at the eighth congress of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, or YAP, at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. The start of the congress was also confirmed by the presidential press service.
From the 2020 War to Full Sovereignty
Aliyev said the country’s leadership continued working to restore Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity after the 2020 war and did not stop those efforts for a single day before the September 2023 operation that restored Baku’s control over Karabakh.
Discussing relations with Armenia, Aliyev said responsibility for past territorial claims should not be placed solely on the country’s former leadership. He argued that Armenia’s current authorities had also advanced such demands and made statements that offended the dignity of the Azerbaijani people.
Core State Policy Remains Unchanged
The president said tactical priorities and some strategic objectives may change over time, but the state’s general direction remains the same: independence, strong state institutions, economic independence, military capability and maximum use of Azerbaijan’s own resources.
Aliyev also described YAP as the largest political force in Azerbaijan and the wider South Caucasus. The party has been in power for more than 30 years, and its members have contributed to the country’s development, he said.
Reviewing the party’s history, Aliyev said the establishment of YAP and Heydar Aliyev’s return to power reflected public demand. He also argued that separatist tendencies would not have developed if Heydar Aliyev had been part of Azerbaijan’s leadership at the beginning of the Karabakh conflict.
YAP’s previous congress was held on March 5, 2021. The party’s charter requires a congress at least once every five years.
Source: Vesti Baku.