“It is enough to look at the maps published by Tsarist Russia in the early 20th century for everyone to see that the absolute majority of toponyms in the territory of present-day Armenia are of Azerbaijani origin”.
Modern.az reports that President Ilham Aliyev stated this during his speech at the 80th-anniversary meeting of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.
The head of state said that there is no lake named Lake Sevan on those maps.
“On those maps, it is Lake Goycha, and all other historical toponyms we use are reflected there. We did not compile those maps for someone to say that we are falsifying something here. Tsarist Russia did this. The same Tsarist Russia that once brought Armenians from Iran and Eastern Anatolia and settled them in our Karabakh land so that the ethnic and religious composition would change here. In other words, these maps are entirely based on historical truth. Therefore, we must promote and research this”.
President Ilham Aliyev stated that more scientific works, and even more small-volume booklets, should be prepared so that Azerbaijani youth can learn their history closely, the world community can know it, and at the same time, our return to present-day Armenia sounds completely logical and just:
“Therefore, regarding the history of Azerbaijan, there is, of course, a need for additional steps in this direction. Overall, there is also a great need for substantial scientific works concerning the history of the independent Azerbaijani state. We have been living as an independent state for over 30 years, and in the centuries-old history of Azerbaijani statehood, Azerbaijan has never been as strong as it is today. Therefore, many works researching and promoting the history of independent Azerbaijan are needed”.
