10 December 1998

The area now called Armenia, actually Western Azerbaijan – Iravan district, Goycha district, Zangibasar district, Zangezur district – all these were the lands where Muslims and Azerbaijanis lived. Unfortunately, Muslims were expelled from these areas, and now there is not a single Muslim in those areas. This is the result of the policy of Armenian nationalism, Armenian extremism, Armenian chauvinism. If we are talking about Islamic civilization in the Caucasus, we must tell the truth.