On July 11, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, chaired a meeting to review the country's socioeconomic performance for the first half of 2023.

Regarding economic developments, Aliyev said, "Our state budget this year has already reached a record level – it has risen to the level of more than 33 billion manats. More than 3 billion manats were added, of which 1.8 billion was channeled into the restoration of Karabakh and East Zangezur, and 1.1 billion manats were allocated to strengthen our military potential. In absolute terms, our debt totals 6.7 billion dollars, which accounts for about 10 percent of our GDP."

He emphasized the international political situation: "Every day, the great powers, which have assumed the role of guarantors of international law, first violate this law and then justify their actions. When I talk of countries, I mean all major countries. Everyone violates conventions, violates international legal norms, violates established international rules of conduct, and makes no secret of it. Therefore, we must be more robust to protect ourselves, our independence, our choice, our way of life, and our territorial integrity."

On positive developments in relations with Armenia, Aliyev added, "One of the positive aspects observed recently is some progress in the position of the Armenian side. Whereas it accepted Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and borders in October last year, this May, they went further. They officially recognized the parameters of the territory of Azerbaijan, including Karabakh and enclave villages. This should be viewed as a positive development. It is now time for the exact words to be put on paper. Sign in and establish relations. In any case, we will continue our efforts in this direction."

The Azerbaijani leader stated regarding the Black Sea route, "I should also note that we were recently able to expand our transportation capabilities beyond our borders, first of all, in the Black Sea. Three large tankers have been purchased, each with a capacity of 115,000 tons. This is the first time in Azerbaijan's history, which was done on my instruction. Tankers were named Shusha, Karabagh and Zangezur. Transportation of Azerbaijani goods by an Azerbaijani company will bring us additional revenues, and we are already present in the Black Sea. We were already there anyway. We had small ships, but today three of our largest tankers, Aframax vessels, are already operating in the Black Sea. We can increase their number if necessary."

Aliyev said about the recent ecological protests in the Gadabay district: "The incident in the Gadabay district was utterly unacceptable. I believe that the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources was negligent as a minimum; it showed a lack of control and acted as a passive observer, resulting in a foreign investor contaminating our nature. People raised their legitimate voices of protest, but did anyone listen to them? No! One day, two days, three days, five days had passed. What was the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources thinking? Wasn't it aware that there was such a problem? It was either aware but paid no heed to it or oblivious. Both are unacceptable. Some citizens were provoked and committed inappropriate and illegal acts, which is intolerable and unacceptable. Some provocateurs have gone into hiding in Azerbaijan, and others have fled abroad. Those in Azerbaijan have already been identified, and several have been brought to justice. We will bring those abroad to account." He added: "There was a natural reason for what happened. And this reason is that a foreign company came here to make money. We do not object; they have made investments and created jobs. Of course, they didn’t come here for charity but to earn money. But this does not mean our nature should be destroyed along the way. It does not mean people's pastures and grazing areas should be occupied. It does not mean they should build a second wastewater lake without obtaining permission from anyone. Who permitted them? It seems they either colluded with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources or did it alone." Aliyev also slammed the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, "Why did I have to say that? Didn’t the Minister of Ecology know that he should go there? I told them they must go there, talk to the people, take air samples, and invite international experts because it is quite possible that the ministry was the cause of this incident. You may involve international experts to receive their feedback as to what extent is the exploitation of these fields harmful to people's health and nature. Almost a month has passed. I am still waiting for someone to get back to me. The Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources failed to do it. They think that I have forgotten about it. I remember everything."

He also protected Azerbaijani police in the context of protests. "The only party that acted with dignity here was the Azerbaijani police. Everyone should know this. Some are frowning now. Open your eyes and see how many people the American police kill every year. Nearly a thousand. How many people do the French police kill, and why? Recently, the whole world saw the actions of the French police. I do not justify them. It is unacceptable, and it is a shame that the police, the absolute majority of the police who kill those people, evade responsibility. After a while, they either release them in court or sentence them conditionally," Aliyev added.