On April 18, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, was interviewed by Azerbaijan Television in the city of Salyan, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

Aliyev mentioned reconstruction work in the liberated territories: "Infrastructure projects are ongoing. Achievements of the first three months of the year have allowed us to add to the budget. The government has been instructed to conduct budget reconciliation and submit it to the Milli Majlis. First of all, the Tax Service collected 1.1 billion manats in excess of the forecast in the first three months of the year. This is also a result of transparency. It is a result of new management methods. The funds collected above the forecast exceed 400 million manats in the customs sector. Currently, the reforms ongoing in the field of customs and the process of eliminating the shortcomings from previous periods are going on successfully. In three months alone, 1.5 billion manats were collected over the forecast. Of course, we have completed only the first three months of the year, and this number will increase further before the end of the year. Therefore, budget reconciliation should be performed to accelerate the work and fulfill other tasks facing the country."

Regarding peace negotiations with Armenia, he emphasized, "I believe that the progress on this issue is evidence of that because there is no other option. We have repeatedly stated that we will not discuss our internal affairs with any country. Karabakh is our internal matter. Armenians living in Karabakh should either accept Azerbaijani citizenship or find another place to live. There is complete freedom, and all democratic fundamentals are on the table. This issue should be resolved based on human rights. Today, our actions show that we intend to sign a peace agreement soon and end this conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia." Aliyev added: "I should also note that in the two and a half years since the Second Karabakh War, Armenia, its patrons, and, at the same time, the countries and forces that support it have clearly witnessed our resolve, determination, and strength. I want to wait to list anything. Many important events have taken place over these two and a half years, both in the direction of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border and, at the same time, in the region under the control of Russia's temporarily deployed peacekeeping forces. We have repeatedly shown that we own these lands and will not allow anyone to call the shots on our territory."

He also slammed Sargsyan, Kocharyan, and Ohanyan: "The separatists should also understand that they have two options: either they will live under the Azerbaijani flag or leave. We have chased Serzhik [Serzh] Sargsyan, Robert Kocharian, and Seyran Ohanyan, the leading figures of the separatists, out of Karabakh like dogs and brought them to their knees. They came to Karabakh during the Second Karabakh War, supposedly to fight against us, and all three ran away from our lands like rabbits. None can poke their nose into Khankendi or any other place now.

On the incident when the National Flag of Azerbaijan was set on fire at the European Weightlifting Championship in Armenia, Aliyev stated: "Such a disgraceful event takes place before the eyes of the political leadership of Armenia, and there is no reaction to it. The Armenian government, the state of Armenia, is the mastermind behind this obnoxious show. But they should not forget where the flag of Azerbaijan flies today. The Azerbaijani flag flies in Karabakh today. The Azerbaijani flag flies in Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli, Kalbadjar, Lachin, Shusha, Hadrut, Talish, Sugovushan, and hundreds of villages. Today, the Azerbaijani flag flies in the Zangezur mountains. Let them not forget that. Can they come close to those flags? Can that human-like creature and his likes approach those flags? They are afraid even to look at those flags from afar. By burning our flag, they only showed their ugly colors to the world."

Response from Armenia

On April 19, the Armenian Foreign Ministry stated that the statements that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made on April 18, 2023, once again demonstrate his intentions to torpedo the efforts of the Armenian side and the international community aimed at establishing peace in the South Caucasus, the Press Office of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

"Moreover, by his statement, the President of Azerbaijan openly admits the preplanned aggression and occupation of the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia and explicitly reveals his intentions to subject the population of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. The President of Azerbaijan, under whose leadership gross and flagrant institutional violations of human rights and the rights of various groups are taking place in the country, openly voices existential threats towards the peaceful population of Nagorno-Karabakh living in their homeland," the report added.

"The statements of the political leadership of Azerbaijan also encourage actions like those of the Azerbaijani soldier who illegally infiltrated the territory of the Republic of Armenia a few days ago, deliberately and brutally murdered an Armenian citizen, and tried to inform the Azerbaijani side about this incident as well as about his intention to kill many other Armenian civilians. We are sure that after these recent statements of the President of Azerbaijan, the international community cannot have any doubts that this, as well as the above-mentioned crimes, were organized at the state level," the information said.

The ministry said, "Instead of looking for sustainable and lasting solutions to the problems that have accumulated in the region for years, Azerbaijan is trying to advance its maximalist claims through the use of force and threats of the use of force. The Armenian side has repeatedly warned about the destabilizing prospects of this policy conducted by Azerbaijan and drew the international community's attention to the dangers of such behavior and actions against the world order based on international law."