"When I said that Zangazur is an ancient Azerbaijani land, this is the truth. Zangazur was handed over to Armenia in 1920 - 101 years ago. Earlier, that land had belonged to us. The Azerbaijanis used to live around the lake Goycha which they call Sevan now. This is also the truth. If you take a look at the maps at the beginning of the XX century, you will find Goycha, not Sevan," said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the international conference entitled "New vision to the South Caucasus: development and cooperation after the conflict" held at ADA University.

The head of state said that the issue with Yerevan is the same: "They have destroyed the historical part of Yerevan. These all are facts. The Azerbaijanis, including my great grandfather, lived there. These all are facts, but it does not mean that we claim territories. I do not know whether you have heard of this or not, I have said that we will return there. However, I have not said that we would return there on tanks. If we return to Zangazur and use the road there, why shouldn't we return to Yerevan? I consider that when the time comes, we will do this as well. Once again, I am grateful for this question. This question has given me an opportunity for clarifying this issue and expressing my stance. We will remember our history, but we have no territorial claims against any country, including Armenia."