Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
February 9, 2018 Friday 1:34 PM EST
Azerbaijan's leader incites ire with call to occupy neighbour Armenia
Yerevan
DPA POLITICS conflict Armenia Azerbaijan Azerbaijan's leader incites ire
with call to occupy neighbour Armenia Yerevan
Armenia hit back on Friday against Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev's claim that his countrymen should occupy
Armenian land.
Aliyev is the "Hitler of the 21st century," said the vice speaker of
Armenia's parliament, Eduard Sharmazanov, referring to Nazi Germany's
occupation of neighbouring countries during World War II.
Aliyev has demonstrated that Azerbaijan is not prepared to peacefully
resolve its conflict with Armenia, Sharmazanov told dpa.
These two former Soviet republics in the southern Caucasus have
clashed over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, with more than
100 people reported killed in a flare-up in 2016.
The region, which comprises about 4,500 square kilometres within
predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan, is controlled by Christian Armenian
separatists.
Aliyev said at a campaign event on Thursday that Armenia's capital,
Yerevan, is "our historical land," the Interfax news agency reported.
"We Azerbaijanis must return to this land. This is our political and
strategic goal," Aliyev was quoted as saying.