400 people from 80 countries are attending the 5th Baku International Humanitarian Forum. The forum has gained great respect in the international arena, said Azerbaijani president.

The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored, international law must be ensured, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

He made the remarks addressing the opening ceremony of the fifth Baku International Humanitarian Forum in Baku Sept. 29.

“Azerbaijan’s historic region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven adjacent districts are under occupation. An act of genocide was committed in Khojaly, which resulted in the murder of a significant number of women and children,” said the president.

The head of state noted that the Khojaly genocide has already been recognized by 10 countries.

“The OSCE has sent two fact-finding missions to the occupied Azerbaijani territories,” said the president. “The infrastructure in the occupied territories are ruined, with mosques and cemeteries bulldozed, while we have renovated an Armenian church in the heart of Baku.”

He added that four resolutions passed by the UN Security Council demand the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied lands.

“However, the Armenians ignore this. That is big injustice. There is no mechanism for fulfilling the resolutions. Sometimes UN resolutions are acted upon in days, if not hours. When it comes to us, these resolutions have not been fulfilled in the past 20 years,” said Ilham Aliyev. “The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Parliament, the OSCE, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have passed similar resolutions.”

Nagorno-Karabakh is historically and judicially an indivisible part of Azerbaijan, the president stressed.

“The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored and international law must be ensured,” he added.

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11:09

Early tendencies of confrontation of civilizations are already visible, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

The president made the remarks addressing the opening ceremony of the fifth Baku International Humanitarian Forum in Baku Sept. 29.

“There are dangerous processes ongoing around the world, with some countries utterly ruined and tense of thousands of people in the state of refugees and IDPs,” he said.

President Aliyev stressed that the migrants who are heading to Europe are facing harassment there.

“If we have a look in elections in Europe, we see that the radical forces win more support, which bolsters radicalism in Europe. That is a highly dangerous tendency,” he said. “We’re talking about inter-civilization dialogue, yet we are seeing the early tendencies of confrontation of civilizations. We need to have an overt talk about our shared concerns.”

Ilham Aliyev emphasized the danger of islamophobia.

“Some politicians and media outlets relate terrorism to Islam. While Muslims countries are suffering from terrorism more than other countries, some European countries say there are ready to host the migrants, but not the Muslims ones. What is this? Is fascism on the rise in Europe? Growing support to radical forces is a matter of concern. We need to openly discuss these issues,” the president warned.

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11:03

Azerbaijan will continue to contribute to intercultural and interrreligious dialogue, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

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10:23

He made the remarks addressing at the official opening ceremony of the 5th Baku International Humanitarian Forum Sep.29.

The head of state noted that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to international humanitarian cooperation.

Humanitarian cooperation plays an important role in interstate relations, he added.

“Azerbaijan is holding the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue every two years. Baku hosted the meeting of religious leaders and international events a few years ago,” said the president.

Azerbaijan also cooperates in organizing major sports events, said Ilham Aliyev.

“Azerbaijan hosted Formula 1 and World Chess Olympiad this year, and the European Games last year,” said the president. “The first European Games was held in a Muslim country – Azerbaijan. It can be regarded as a contribution to inter-religious dialogue. Baku will host the Islamic Solidarity Games next year,” he added.

President Aliyev outlined, these events are beneficial for both Azerbaijan and the rest of the world.

“Azerbaijan is a country of multiple religions and confessions. There is bloodshed in various spots on the globe. International humanitarian cooperation can play a critical role in preventing this,” he said.

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