An international conference on "South Caucasus: Development and Cooperation" was held at ADA University. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the conference.

Answering a question about the attitude of neighbouring countries during the Second Karabakh War, Aliyev said, "Armenia had expectations that Russia would intervene in the war in [Nagorno]-Karabakh. This did not happen because we were fighting on our territory. However, this is well known, and during the 44-day war we repeatedly stated publicly that arms were regularly transported from Russia to Armenia by plane several times a day. We followed all routes - arms from Rostov and Mozdok. We asked our Georgian friends to close the airspace, and they did. In addition, we asked our Georgian friends to prevent the shipment of weapons from Russia to Georgia by land, and they did. We are grateful to all the Caspian littoral states. We have decided not to allow cargo planes carrying weapons from Russia to Armenia to fly. Such letters were sent to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. Unfortunately, these planes used the airspace of those countries to enter Armenia."

Clarifying the issues related to the meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Brussels, the President said: "We appreciate the role of the European Union and especially the President of the Council of the European Union Charles Michel in the normalisation of relations in the post-conflict period. He visited the region, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, where we had very long and very constructive discussions with him for the first time. At the same time, we are very grateful that they seriously addressed the issue of concern to us. The next meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives is scheduled for early May in Brussels. Thus, we appreciate these efforts. The European Union is a very important partner for us."

Aliyev expressed his position on the events in Ukraine. "You can never defeat the people of a country that is determined to defend itself. It can only be temporary. We have demonstrated that. Now I am proud that we openly support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and other countries," he said. “We do not hide behind trees. We say what we mean. Yes, we have good relations with Russia. At the same time, we have good relations with Ukraine. The principles of international law should not be interpreted on the basis of political choices," he added.

The event was also attended by Veli Kuzeger Kaleji, a member of the Scientific Council of the Institute for Iranian and Eurasian Studies. Veli Kaleji reiterated the speculations in Iran about the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha. According to Kaleji, one of the guests of the Congress made statements aimed against the territorial integrity of Iran.

Ilham Aliyev informed Kaleji that there is a group of Azerbaijani citizens who have taken refuge in Iran, and they use unpleasant expressions every day, in addition to speaking out against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. At the summit on the Caspian Sea in Aktau, the President of Azerbaijan said that he had given a list of about 20 of these people to Hassan Rouhani, who was later elected President of Iran, and asked them to be extradited to Azerbaijan. He stressed that despite the evidence from Azerbaijan, the Iranian side did not comply with this request.

Speaking about the sanctions imposed on Russia, Aliyev said, "sanctions create difficult conditions for us, because Russia is our big neighbour and big trading partner. Russia is a market of great importance for Azerbaijan's non-oil export and service sector. At the same time, we have a large border with Russia. For example, we have extensive cooperation with Russia in the field of food and construction materials. We cannot give up this market in the short term, it is simply not profitable."

In addition, President Ilham Aliyev said that Armenia must give up all illusions about revenge, re-strengthening the army, and trying to recapture new territories. “This will officially mean the end of their statehood," he said. At the same time, Aliyev noted that recently there have been positive trends in Armenia. He also said that "positive messages are coming from Armenians living in Karabakh and initial contacts have begun." "We accept Armenians living in Karabakh as our citizens," Aliyev concluded.

Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan responded to the statement of the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan about expectations from Yerevan. "We have already stated that there is nothing unacceptable in the proposal for the recognition of each other's territorial integrity by Armenia and Azerbaijan. We also said that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognised each other's territorial integrity in the early 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh issue is not a territorial issue for us, but the issue of security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. But some statements by a number of high-ranking Azerbaijani officials need to be clarified. In the context of these statements, we believe that Azerbaijani officials should clarify what territories they see in the context of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, so that Armenia clarifies its position."