“For many years, I spoke from this tribune about the tragedies of aggression”, but “today, I will speak about our long road to victory and peace, and a new era in Azerbaijan’s history”, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev, said.  For nearly three decades, almost 20 per cent of his country’s territory remained under Armenia’s military occupation.  In 2020,  Azerbaijan was forced to exercise its legitimate right to self-defense, with 10 November 2020 marking Armenia's capitulation and the restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.  On 8 August 2025, the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia met at the United States White House and initialled the text of a peace agreement.

Another key outcome of the Washington Summit is the “Trump Route for International Peace and Security”, which will “ensure unimpeded access through the Zangezur corridor and foster regional connectivity”, he added.  The Summit has signalled a new phase in Azerbaijan-United States relations, he said, noting a memorandum of understanding between the two countries and the waiver of the sanctions imposed on Azerbaijan in 1992.  “I want to express my gratitude to President Donald Trump for opening a new chapter in the United States-Azerbaijan relationship, for his decision to elevate it to the strategic partnership level and for his support to the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” he said.

Landmine contamination obstructs the safe return of displaced persons and delays reconstruction projects, he continued, also highlighting the environmental degradation and shrinking of the Caspian Sea.  “The main reason is not climate change,” he said, calling on littoral States to make joint efforts to stop this ecological catastrophe.  His country hosted the twenty-ninth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change last year and guided negotiations towards ambitious and balanced outcomes, including the adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, known as the Baku Finance Goal.

“At the same time, we should not put unrealistic targets in front of us,” he warned, stressing that the world cannot live without fossil fuels.  Azerbaijan plays a proactive role in advancing energy security and has connected the Caspian region with international markets through a diversified oil and gas pipeline system.  It is also attracting large investments in renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydropower.  Azerbaijan has achieved significant economic growth by diversifying its economy beyond oil and gas, developing the non-oil sector and improving the investment climate through reforms and transparency.  “Azerbaijan has entered a new era.  We won both war and peace.  We ended the occupation and started reconstruction,” he said.