Aliyev called Nakhichevan a "historical territory" of Azerbaijan and again voiced territorial claims against Armenia

Yesterday, on March 5, during the opening of the Igdir-Nakhichevan gas pipeline, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that Nakhichevan, which is "a historical territory of Azerbaijan, has been separated from the main part of the country for more than a century and has no land connection, since the Soviet administration separated Western Zangezur from Azerbaijan and transferred it to Armenia."

" During the 1st Karabakh War, Armenia blockaded Nakhichevan. The Armenians wanted to capture Nakhichevan, as they did in Karabakh. My father, Heydar Aliyev, who was the head of Nakhichevan at the time, did not allow this. One of the reasons for not capturing Nakhichevan was the construction of the Bridge of Hope between Nakhichevan and Turkey. "Turkey's assistance has made a significant contribution to the security of Nakhichevan," Aliyev said.

I want to say that our assessment is clear: prohibited influence is taking place through prohibited means, including physical and psychological pressure tools, through some information we have, and other prohibited means, and this is, naturally, unacceptable to us.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this during a question-and-answer session with the government in the National Assembly, responding to a question from independent MP Gegham Nazaryan .

Nazaryan specifically asked what the Armenian diplomatic corps is doing to end the "trial" of our compatriots taking place in Baku and to draw the attention of the international community to this disgrace .

" We have information, and that information already clearly shows that prohibited means and torture are being used. The Republic of Armenia, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has made clear assessments. We will continue our efforts to clearly address this," Pashinyan said .

According to the Prime Minister, in such situations, when it comes to prisoners, hostages, and other detained persons, the question naturally arises: what is our diplomacy doing ?

" Our diplomacy is doing what is possible. I want to emphasize that our diplomacy is guided, first of all, by the principle of doing no harm. Another natural question arises: where are those diplomatic efforts that are not visible? In response to that question, I always bring the example of December 2023, when our 32 captured compatriots returned to the Republic of Armenia and until the last second of the official announcement, we never disclosed any details, because that would nullify the efforts made previously and the likelihood of their effectiveness," he emphasized .

In response, Nazaryan said that Azerbaijan wants to psychologically influence our people with the published footage, but also that the publication of those footage makes the job of our diplomats easier: to explain to the international community that a crime against humanity is taking place .

" Every Armenian must do everything to get those people out," the MP said .

Pashinyan also noted that if that thesis is true, that they want to have a psychological impact on our society, it means that they are fulfilling their task .

"I understand the situation is delicate and can be emotional, but if we look at it from that perspective, we must also understand that in fact they are the ones who pose and solve that problem, and we must perceive it from that perspective," he noted.