It is a great honor for me to receive such a prestigious award (the “Zayed Award for Human Fraternity” – ed.). Especially since it is named after the founder of the United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Zayed. I accept this decision as an assessment of our efforts to establish peace in the Caucasus after more than thirty years of bloodshed, conflict and war.
Elchi.az reports that President Ilham Aliyev said this in an interview with Euronews TV on January 20 in Davos.
The head of state noted that today the South Caucasus is entering a new stage of development. “We have been living in peace for five or six months. We are getting used to it. We have never lived in peace in our history of independence. It is a special feeling and, of course, a great opportunity. Today, relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are already turning into cooperation. We have removed all restrictions on the transportation of goods to Armenia. In addition, we have started supplying Armenia with basic goods, primarily petroleum products, on which it is mainly dependent. Everyone benefits from this situation. Therefore, I think that with the joint efforts of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as civil society, we will achieve not long-term, but eternal peace in the Caucasus. That is our goal,” President Ilham Aliyev added.