President Ilham Aliyev has addressed an appeal to Azerbaijanis around the world. AZERTAC reports that the appeal says:
“Dear compatriots! Dear compatriots! I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of December 31 - the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis, founded by the great leader Heydar Aliyev, and convey my sincere wishes and wishes to each of you. We are ending 2020 in a tense fight against the coronavirus pandemic around the world. From the first days, the Azerbaijani government has taken consistent measures to overcome the situation with minimal losses. These steps, as well as Azerbaijan's humanitarian assistance to countries in need, have been praised by the World Health Organization. At the initiative of Azerbaijan as the chairman of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States and the Non-Aligned Movement, which is represented by 120 countries, the summit was held in a video format dedicated to the fight against COVID-19 of both institutions.
In December of this year, a special session of the UN General Assembly on coronavirus at the level of heads of state and government was held at the initiative of Azerbaijan as the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement and supported by more than 150 countries. This is a clear indication of Azerbaijan's active participation in global processes, respect for our country and international support. Armenia's provocative statements and actions that undermined the negotiation process, the military provocation committed by the state border in the direction of Tovuz in July, the concentration of troops on the line of contact, and the sending of sabotage groups to commit terrorist acts were further indications of its ugly intentions. During the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September this year, the international community was warned about Armenia's preparations for a new war. On September 27, in response to the military aggression of Armenia against our country, the people of Azerbaijan went to war. The victorious Azerbaijani Army severely defeated the enemy and restored the territorial integrity of our country for 44 days, full of heroism at every moment. The glorious Victory, which will live forever in the history of our national statehood and in the memory of our people, was achieved thanks to the unity of people and power, the high professionalism of our army and intense political and diplomatic activity.
The "Iron Fist" operation carried out by our army in extremely difficult conditions and in a short period of time in terms of territory and relief has gone down in world military history and is being studied by leading military centers and specialists. The grand Victory Parade held on December 10 in Baku's Freedom Square demonstrated the political, economic and military power of the Azerbaijani state, the will of our people, the determination of our army to win, the unshakable fighting spirit of our soldiers and officers. I once again express my deep gratitude to all the personnel of our victorious army, who gave our people a sense of national pride and joy, the joy of victory, waving our tricolor flag in our liberated lands, in the holy Shusha, the crown of Karabakh. I bow to the immortal souls of our martyrs and ask God to have mercy on them, and I wish our wounded servicemen a speedy recovery.
During the Patriotic War, Azerbaijan prevented disinformation campaigns against our country in the international information space, brought to the attention of the international community the vandalism of Armenia and the policy of terror against civilians. I am confident that we will soon turn our native Karabakh, which was completely destroyed as a result of the Armenian occupation and savagery, into a real paradise. The courageous protests of our compatriots living abroad against the insidious provocations of the enemy and anti-Azerbaijani circles during the Holy Patriotic War, their selfless services in conveying the truth about Azerbaijan to the world community were a worthy contribution to our victory. Dear compatriots! I wish each of you success in your activities for the further strengthening and prosperity of our native Azerbaijan. "