Ilham Aliyev

Notable Quotes

Karabakh is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan! —Victory speech, November 2020

from Azerbaijan sentences former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders · Updated Feb 6

Criminals who waged a bloody war, committed vandalism, and perpetrated genocide have been arrested and will be brought to justice. —September 2023

from Azerbaijan sentences former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders · Updated Feb 6

The plane was shot down by Russia. First of all, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Secondly, it must acknowledge its guilt. Thirdly, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility, and compensation must be paid.

from Russia's missile downed a passenger jet. a year later, no one's been punished. · Updated Dec 26, 2025

Stories

U.S. brokers Armenia-Azerbaijan peace after three decades of conflict

Rule Changes

Has ruled since 2003; achieved military victory over Armenian forces

No sitting U.S. president or vice president had ever visited Armenia—until February 9, 2026. Vice President JD Vance's arrival in Yerevan marks more than a diplomatic first: it signals Washington's deepest-ever engagement in a region long dominated by Russia and Iran. Vance brought $9 billion in potential nuclear investment, advanced Nvidia chips, and surveillance drones—tangible proof that the Trump administration is backing its August 2025 peace framework with economic muscle.

Updated Feb 11

Azerbaijan sentences former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders

Rule Changes

In power since 2003

For 35 years, ethnic Armenians governed themselves in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave inside Azerbaijan's internationally recognized borders. On February 5, 2026, an Azerbaijani military court sentenced 13 former leaders of that self-declared republic—including three ex-presidents—to prison terms ranging from 15 years to life. The charges: war crimes, terrorism, genocide, and crimes against humanity spanning three decades of conflict.

Updated Feb 6

Russia's missile downed a passenger jet. a year later, no one's been punished.

Force in Play

Demanding Russia admit guilt, prosecute perpetrators, and pay compensation

On December 25, 2024, Russian anti-aircraft fire shredded an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet carrying 67 people. The pilots—hydraulics destroyed, controls failing—flew the crippled Embraer 190 across the Caspian Sea for an emergency landing. They nearly made it. Thirty-eight people died in the crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Twenty-nine survived because of the crew's last-minute heroics.

Updated Dec 26, 2025