President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made these remarks while addressing participants of the 53rd meeting of the Council of Heads of Security and Special Services of the CIS member states.
“France plays a leading role in this, which is reflected in the statements of its officials and in attempts to discredit Azerbaijan through a massive media campaign, where everything is turned upside down. Azerbaijan is portrayed as the aggressor, Armenia as the victim. The history of the 30-year occupation, the destruction of all our cities and villages, the Khojaly genocide – all of this is naturally ignored, and completely false stories are fabricated. But, by the way, I must say that just yesterday I was shown a video segment where a U.S. presidential candidate makes accusations against Azerbaijan and shows footage of an Armenian rocket attack on the city of Ganja.
To stoop to such a level of falsification and cynicism is unimaginable. During the Second Karabakh War, Armenia shelled our cities, located hundreds of kilometers away from the conflict zone, with long-range artillery, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred civilians, including children, were killed. So, this so-called candidate, while accusing Azerbaijan, displays footage of an Armenian attack on Ganja and Barda. How can you even talk to people like them? They don’t want to hear anything. They have their own agendas handed down from the center, and they act accordingly. Therefore, we are currently facing an unprecedented information war against Azerbaijan. Of course, we are resisting with our own efforts, trying to convey the truth about what happened. But one must understand that the forces are unequal. Countries like France, with a long colonial history, have far more media resources around the world than we do,” said Aliyev.
