BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday that his country will strengthen its army and defense industry in the days to come.

Speaking after being sworn in for a fourth term in office, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan will invest at least 1 billion manat (about $588 million) in the defense industry in 2024 and boost arms production.

Aliyev warned that the world has come very close to World War III, adding: "Some people think this war has already started."

"Our army has demonstrated its strength not in exercises, not in parades, but on the battlefield. Armenia and those supporting it militarily should understand that nothing can stop us," he said, referring to Azerbaijan’s defeat of neighboring Armenia in the fall 2020 Karabakh conflict.

He added: "If territorial claims against us are not abandoned, if Armenia does not bring its legislation into order, of course, there will be no peace treaty."

Aliyev also said that Azerbaijan will continue to work on developing its economy and improving the lives of its citizens.

Aliyev, who has been Azerbaijan's president since 2003, was reelected for a fifth term in office on Feb. 7 with over 92% of the vote.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Azerbaijan liberated most of the region during the war in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement, opening the door to normalization.

Baku initiated an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh last September to establish constitutional order, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas in Istanbul