"Why did we lose our lands in the first Karabakh war? Because the Azerbaijani leadership at the time could not fulfill its responsibilities. The occupation of Shusha and Lachin in 1992 and of Kalbajar in April 1993 virtually established a geographical link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and subsequent occupation of other lands was inevitable," said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the nation.

"Our army was almost destroyed. There was no regular army, our brave and heroic sons were fighting like heroes but were getting killed. Our lands were lost. We had no power. Therefore, the power factor came to the fore. In today's changing world, the power factor has almost officially come to the foreground," the head of state emphasized.

"I predicted this 10 years ago, so all opportunities were mobilized to gather strength. Power lies in the economy. If the economy is not strong, there can be no military or political power. We had to create economic independence, and we did that. For several years now, Azerbaijan has been a completely independent country from an economic point of view. We are not dependent on anyone, not dependent on any country, not dependent on any international financial institution," President Ilham Aliyev said.