On January 14, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev laid the groundwork for the Fuzuli-Shusha highway at the 27th km of Ahmadbayli-Fuzuli-Shusha highway, and that for an airport in Fuzuli district.
President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva then visited the city of Shusha, the capital of Azerbaijani culture liberated from occupation.
The newly developed project of the Fuzuli-Shusha highway includes the construction of bridges and tunnels. The new road will be connected to Fuzuli airport, and another new one will be built to Isa Bulaghi.
The head of state and first lady laid the groundwork for the road.
President Ilham Aliyev then laid the groundwork for the international airport in Fuzuli district.
The airport, to have a 2,800 meters long runway, will be equipped with infrastructure in compliance with international standards. All amenities will be available here for the arrival and departure of planes and passengers' comfort.
President Ilham Aliyev said:
-Today, on January 14, the foundation of Fuzuli International Airport was laid. I have informed the Azerbaijani people about the construction of the airport. It is an essential project for the development of our liberated regions. The Fuzuli International Airport is to be commissioned this year. At least the runway should be commissioned in 2021. The airport building may be commissioned this year or next year. This airport's primary purpose will be to cater to the needs of foreign visitors arriving in Shusha. The distance from here to Shusha is not long. Considering the foundation of a new four and six-lane Fuzuli-Shusha highway was laid earlier today, foreign visitors will be able to arrive at the Fuzuli International Airport and travel to Shusha very comfortably in no time.
I have declared Shusha the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. Work has begun to restore the city of Shusha, restore its historical appearance. In general, only two months have passed since the war ended, but extensive construction work has already begun. A second international airport will be built in our liberated lands in Kalbajar or Lachin district. A site is now being selected, and the construction of two international airports must be completed soon.
The Grand Return begins. The work has already started. I am sure that just as we drove the enemy out of our lands in a short time – in a matter of 44 days – we will restore our ancestral lands of Karabakh in a short time.
Karabakh is Azerbaijan!
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President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva then headed to the city of Shusha.
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President of Azerbaijan, Victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, hoisted the national tricolor flag in Shusha.
The head of state then met with the servicemen and delivered remarks.
Remarks by President Ilham Aliyev
- Dear servicemen, November 8 will forever go down in the history of our people. On November 8, Azerbaijan won a brilliant victory by liberating our ancient city of Shusha from the enemy. The liberation of Shusha required extraordinary heroism, professionalism and national spirit. Azerbaijan's army demonstrated all these inspiring features.
I have come to Shusha using the Victory road. That road is now open. There was no road there before. Azerbaijan's heroic army, crossing mountains, forests, valleys and tens of kilometers, liberated villages and settlements along the way, approached the city of Shusha, liberated the village of Dashalti and then liberated Shusha from the occupiers.
I am confident that the Shusha operation will be included in leading international military schools' textbooks. I already know that experts from many developed countries analyze every single day of the 44-day war because every day of the 44-day war is a story of triumph. The liberation of Shusha was a tremendous blow to the enemy because the enemy thought that it was impossible to liberate Shusha, and they were probably right to some extent. Panahali khan built this city, so that steep rocks and natural landscape would protect Shusha from all sides. In May 1992, Shusha was occupied due to the betrayal of the then leadership of Azerbaijan and the PFPA-Musavat duo fighting for power. At that time, the Armenians gave their so-called operation a name – Wedding in the Mountains. But there was no operation. The city of Shusha was surrendered. The then minister of defense said that if Shusha were lost, he would shoot himself in the head. Instead, he cowardly fled Shusha. After that, the Armenians invented legends about this operation – the so-called "Wedding in the mountains". We have arranged a "wedding" for them they will never forget. The heroic sons of Azerbaijan liberated Shusha from the occupiers by conducting a flawless military operation, demonstrating courage, bravery, heroism, strength and national spirit. After a long break, Azerbaijan's flag was raised in Shusha on November 8.
In my remarks at the inauguration of the magnificent National Flag Square in Baku, I said the day would come when Azerbaijan's flag is hoisted in the occupied territories, including Shusha. And this is the day. I remember some representatives of the Armenian separatist regime saying at the time that Azerbaijan's flag could be raised in Shusha only if Azerbaijan recognized the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh republic" and then opened an embassy in Nagorno-Karabakh. Notice what disgusting and arrogant expressions they used. They are hiding like mice now, tight-lipped, unable to utter a word. We came here as winners. We raised our flag. Azerbaijan's flag is flying in all the liberated lands. We have come here through fighting. Nobody handed these lands to us. Negotiations were futile. We realized that we had to liberate our lands on our own, and we did that. We have proved our strength to the whole world by crushing the enemy's head. We forced the enemy to kneel before us and sign the act of capitulation. That is is what happened, and the humiliating act of capitulation will go down in history forever. The whole world is talking about our Victory. Leading media outlets worldwide write about Azerbaijan's brilliant Victory and publish reports. Analytical articles are now being published, and books will be written.
The 44-day war of our glorious army is the war of the 21st century. We had appropriately prepared for this war, and we made no secret of that. I have said many times, including in my meetings with the military, that if the enemy does not leave our lands of its own free will, we will force them out of our lands. Force will play a role, and so it happened. Every single day of the 44-day war was a day of Victory. Every day we moved forward. We did not drop back a single time. It is an infrequent occasion in wars.
There are offensives during the battles, and then there are fallbacks and maneuvers. Yet, we advanced every day. Every week we liberated dozens of settlements from the occupiers. As a result, we liberated more than 300 settlements and Shusha by dealing crushing blows to the enemy. We forced them to withdraw their troops from Aghdam, Lachin and Kalbajar districts in just 20 days. They were thrown out of our lands, and we returned. From the day the war began, I told them to commit to vacating our lands. I said that the Armenian leadership should take this responsibility and give us a timetable for leaving our lands, and only then I would stop the war. Otherwise, we will go to the end. Despite the pressure, the phone calls and threats, I said that we would go to the end and drive the enemy out of our lands. We did that. We went all the way; we drove the enemy out and forced them to sign an act of capitulation on November 10, thus ending the war.
This war will live forever in our history. We won this war through sacrifices - our martyrs' lives and blood, and thanks to our servicemen's bravery. May Allah have mercy on all our martyrs! May Allah grant patience to their relatives! All martyrs' families are taken care of by the government. All martyrs' families will be provided with apartments and houses by the state. Instructions have already been issued this year. The allowance for martyrs' families has been increased from 300 to 500 manats, and these families will always be in the spotlight. The state has already provided apartments to the families of 9,000 martyrs killed in the First Karabakh War. Our wounded servicemen are being taken care of by the state. We will address the rehabilitation of disabled servicemen and provide them with modern prosthetics. I have awarded high orders and medals to thousands of servicemen who showed heroism in the war.
The Order of the Patriotic War is the highest military order of Azerbaijan. The "Victory" Order, the "Karabakh" Order. I suggested the names of all these orders myself. The servicemen who distinguished themselves in the liberation of our settlements and cities were awarded medals bearing these districts' names. Our army successfully liberated Jabrayil, Fuzuli and Khojavand districts, Sugovushan and Hadrut settlements, Murovdag range, the southern part of Lachin district, Gubadli, Zangilan districts and the city of Shusha on November 8. On November 9, the enemy surrendered, threw in the towel, was put on its knees and conceded defeat.
We are a victorious people. I last came to Shusha 39 years ago. I came here twice 39 years ago - first on January 14. Here I am again today, on January 14. I arrived as the Commander-in-Chief of the victorious Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. I have come as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army that broke the enemy's back, and I state it here under the sacred flag and before the heroic servicemen that we will live in these lands forever! We will restore Shusha and all other destroyed cities and villages. We will restore all our destroyed historical sites. Armenia spread falsifications about Shusha worldwide, claiming that Shusha is their ancient city. How can a city built by Panahali Khan be an Armenian city? After all, this is a matter of recent history, recent events. If they considered it their city, why did they bring it to such a deplorable state? Why did they destroy all the buildings? Look at the plight of the city. Over 30 years, they razed everything to the ground and only built villas and created amenities for themselves.
We will restore this city. A large group was sent here on my instructions and carried out an assessment. I received the first update yesterday and already issued relevant instructions. Soon, we will ensure the restoration of Shusha in a planned manner. Of course, we must protect Shusha like the apple of an eye from now on. Our soldiers, our heroic sons, will protect Shusha so that the enemy does not venture to look in this direction. I said that if anyone in Armenia even thinks of revenge, they will deal with our iron fist again. This iron fist broke their backs and crushed their heads. If they commit any provocation against us, our response will be harsh. They will regret and face a bitter defeat again. No-one can confront us. That will always be the case from now on. Azerbaijan's Army, Special Forces, our heroic sons, fighters of military units must cherish Shusha and all the liberated lands like the apple of an eye so that the enemy never dares to attempt anything ever again. If they do, the end will be bitter.
At the end of my speech in the Alley of Martyrs on November 8, announcing the liberation of Shusha to the people of Azerbaijan, I said: dear Shusha, you are free! Dear Shusha, we are back! Dear Shusha, we will reinvigorate you! I repeat the same words today. Shusha is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!
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Then a photo was taken together with the servicemen.
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President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva visited Saatli Mosque in Shusha.
The head of state presented the Holy Quran to the mosque.
President Ilham Aliyev said:
- We have visited the Saatli Mosque, prayed there and presented the Holy Quran from Mecca to the Saatli Mosque. We will then visit the Ashaghi Govharagha and Yukari Govharagha mosques. I will present the Quran I brought from the holy Mecca to these mosques. During the occupation, the enemy destroyed our religious sites in the liberated lands, devastated 67 mosques or made them unusable. After the liberation of Shusha, our citizens cleaned up the mosque and carried out some repairs. Of course, the mosque will be overhauled, relevant instructions have been issued, and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has undertaken this mission. Mehriban khanim made a statement on this. We will restore all our historical and religious sites.
I must say that the overhaul and restoration of the Aghdam Juma Mosque I visited most recently already began. Experts have already been sent there, and proposals for repairs will be submitted soon. At the same time, mosques in Shusha will be restored. The destruction of the minaret shows the Islamophobic nature of the enemy. Armenia is continuously trying to establish relations with Muslim countries, develop ties with some countries, and position itself as a country with a positive attitude towards Muslim peoples. That is a lie. If anyone still believes this, let them come to Shusha, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil and other liberated lands of ours and see what Armenian leaders have done to Muslim mosques - the temples sacred to every Muslim. They have destroyed and desecrated them, kept pigs and cows in them, wrote obscenities on the walls of our mosques. Can such a country be friends with Muslim states? Of course not! I have repeatedly stated this on all international platforms and addressed Muslim countries' leaders in bilateral and multilateral meetings and international events. I have said that Armenia cannot be friends with Muslim countries. A country that has brought mosques to this condition cannot be friends with Muslim states. It is hypocrisy, and viewing Armenia as a friendly country is hypocrisy and ungodliness. How can Muslim countries' leaders be friends with a country that has destroyed mosques? Let them answer. Let them respond to their people, not to me. Can they be friends with a country that has destroyed mosques and put cows there? Let their people answer this.
We are protecting and will continue to protect the temples of all religions. Let no-one doubt that. The history of our independence and the pre-independence history showed that. The religious sites of all faiths are protected in our country – churches, synagogues, including an Armenian church in the center of Baku, are protected and repaired by the state. What did they do? While in Zangilan, I delivered remarks outside a local mosque, or whatever is left of it. I appealed to the people of Azerbaijan and said what they have done. Addressing the international organizations, I said, come and see this, prepare a report here, not in your cabinets. Don't believe the false information of the Armenian leadership and its patrons. Come and see what they have done to our mosques with your own eyes. They repaired the Yukhari Govharagha Mosque jointly with a foreign company to create an image. We do not need this repair. This repair is a symbol of hypocrisy. It is intended to create the impression that the Armenian leadership repairs mosques. Unfortunately, the company of a particular country was involved in these ugly deeds. Of course, the Yukari Govharagha Mosque repair is unacceptable because they came to our lands illegally without our permission, stayed here for months, and allegedly repaired this mosque in collaboration with the Armenian criminal junta. We do not need such repairs. Let no-one be deceived; no-one should fall for this. We will repair and rebuild all our mosques, and the whole world must see what the hated enemy has done to our holy temples.
After the liberation of Shusha, restoring the city and all its historic buildings began. Attempts to Armenianize Shusha have been stopped. For 30 years, they tried to Armenianize Shusha, but they failed. They were aliens in this city. If they ever considered it their own, they would not have brought it to this deplorable condition. The real owners of Shusha are back. We are here. Shusha is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!
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The head of state, the first lady and their daughter Leyla also visited the Ashaghi Govharagha and Yukari Govharagha mosques in Shusha.
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As a result of Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani lands, including Shusha, historical and cultural monuments were destroyed, and home museums were looted.
Busts to Khurshidbanu Natavan, Uzeyir Hajibayli, Bulbul in Shusha are among them. These shot busts are witnesses to Armenian vandalism. In one of his speeches, President Ilham Aliyev said that after the restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, busts to Bulbul, Natavan and Uzeyir Hajibeyli would be returned to Shusha. These words of the head of state have already become a reality. The busts of these prominent figures were returned to Shusha.
President Ilham Aliyev said:
- When I came to Shusha today, I brought the busts of our geniuses Khurshidbanu Natavan, Uzeyir Hajibayli and Bulbul, which were kept in the premises of the Arts Museum in Baku for almost 30 years. The cultural center of Shusha, the House of Culture, was located here, and the busts of Uzeyir Bey and Bulbul used to stand here. The hated enemy destroyed the Shusha House of Culture and shot at our prominent individuals' figures.
The bust of Khurshidbanu Natavan was unveiled personally by Heydar Aliyev in the summer of 1982. I was here with my father at that time. There was a bust of Khurshidbanu Natavan not far from here. After desecrating our prominent personalities' figures, the Armenians took them to Armenia to be melted down and sold. Just imagine how evil is that to shoot at and insult the memorial busts of historical personalities, take them away and try to melt them down. At that time, Poland Bulbuloglu found out about that and appealed to great leader Heydar Aliyev. As a result of the measures taken, these busts were taken away from the Armenians. I must say we had to pay for them. They sold them – just as they have sold everything else throughout their existence. We repurchased these busts. We brought them back then and placed them in the Arts Museum's premises.
Every now and then, some people suggested that we put these busts somewhere in Baku. I said no to that. We will take them back only after liberating Shusha from the enemy and put them in their original places.
The busts of our great personalities are a symbol of our Victory. Their spirits will be rejoicing. They have returned to their homeland. We brought them back, chased the enemy away, crushed the enemy, threw them out of our lands, took back Shusha and liberated it. Everyone coming here to Shusha will see the Armenian savagery.
Historical justice is being restored. We are restoring historical justice – at the expense of strength, perseverance, resolve, courage, and national spirit! Natavan, Uzeyir bey, Bulbul are the embodiment of our national spirit. Their cherished memory has lived and will live on forever in our hearts. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!
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President Ilham Aliyev, the First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva also viewed the building of Shusha District Executive Authority, Natavan bulaghi, and the house-museum of Bulbul.
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President Ilham Aliyev, the First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva arrived at the place where the bust and mausoleum of Molla Panah Vagif once situated.
Delivering remarks in front of the mausoleum, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- The mausoleum of Molla Panah Vagif, built on the initiative of great leader Heydar Aliyev, was inaugurated exactly 39 years ago – on January 14, 1982. I remember that historic day. Because at that time, along with my father, I was standing right here. There is video footage of that historic event. It was freezing and snowy. It was snowing heavily. However, the people gathered at this event, Azerbaijani intellectuals did not feel that cold because of the magnificent mausoleum of Molla Panah Vagif, the vizier of the Karabakh khan, being inaugurated. Great leader Heydar Aliyev put forward this initiative. The construction work was carried out under his guidance, and a beautiful, majestic mausoleum was built.
It was quite unusual to erect a mausoleum in honor of the khan's vizier at that time, during the Soviet era. Everyone can see it as a natural phenomenon now. However, at that time, in the age of socialism, the construction of a mausoleum in honor of the khan's vizier was a truly extraordinary event. Thanks to Heydar Aliyev's persistence and courage, Azerbaijan achieved this at that time, and this place was not chosen by chance. The grave of Molla Panah Vagif is here. This mausoleum's inauguration was, on the one hand, signified respect for the history of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the genius of the Azerbaijani people. On the other hand, the opening of this mausoleum in Shusha once again confirmed that Shusha is an Azerbaijani city.
When the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region was established, the goal of including Shusha in it was quite clear – to steadily and gradually erase the traces of Azerbaijan here, to Armenianize this territory and to make Azerbaijanis a minority in this part of their republic. That was the goal. During the time of national leader Heydar Aliyev, in 1969-1982, thanks to his efforts and policy, the ethnic composition changed significantly in favor of the Azerbaijani people. Primarily due to the construction of a railway from Yevlakh and Aghdam to Khankandi, the establishment of enterprises in Nagorno-Karabakh and the arrival of specialists from different parts of Azerbaijan. In 1982, Azerbaijanis already made up 25 percent of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region's population. Had Heydar Aliyev stayed in power in Azerbaijan at that time, Azerbaijanis would have constituted a majority in the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region in the next ten years, and no conflict or separatism would have ever arisen here.
The great leader's foresight, devotion to his native people, love of our literature and culture were manifested in the construction of this mausoleum. Again, I want to say that khanates were described as anti-national entities in the official Soviet ideology, while khans were presented to the public as enemies. The Soviet Union's official doctrine was that khanates existing in Azerbaijan allegedly only exploited people. The Azerbaijani people allegedly waited for these khanates to be abolished and Soviet rule to be established instead. Of course, this was nonsense. The Azerbaijani people have lived with the love of freedom and independence for centuries. Unfortunately, the vast majority of our history passed in the colonial format, as we were part of other states. We were forced to do that; it was not our choice.
The national leader did a great deal to keep up the national spirit at a high level in Soviet times. The opening of this mausoleum was a historic event. I remember that day very well. I stood there slightly aside while my father and prominent cultural figures stood here. I remember Azerbaijani and Armenian poets reciting poems. Even Armenian poets recited poems in Azerbaijani. It was a celebration of friendship, a friendly event. No-one could ever imagine that separatism would break out here in a few years. That Armenia would invade Azerbaijan, that our historical city would be taken away from us, that our historical sites, mosques and this mausoleum would be destroyed. They would try to erase the Azerbaijani people's centuries-old heritage from the Karabakh land. That could not have occurred to anyone. I have said this many times, and I want to repeat – if Heydar Aliyev had not left Baku for Moscow in 1982, if he had not been appointed to Moscow, he would never have allowed any separatism to take place here. But when Heydar Aliyev came to power, Shusha was already under occupation, Kalbajar was under occupation, Lachin was under occupation, Dashalti was under occupation, all surrounding areas were under occupation, and a geographical link was established between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
The government of the Popular Front and Musavat is to blame for this. They committed this betrayal and then cowardly went into hiding, fled and sold Shusha. They handed over the impregnable fortress of Shusha to the enemy to overthrow the then government of Azerbaijan and come to power. And this is what happened. The loss of Shusha led to the collapse of the then government. The Popular Front took advantage of this and came to power after the loss of Shusha and the surrender of Lachin to the enemy. Everyone remembers this history. It is recent history. The Popular Front-Musavat duo committed treason, betrayal and crime only to come to power. What did they do next? They turned plunder into a state policy in Azerbaijan, declared corruption their ideological principle, and left the mark of betrayal and desertion on the Azerbaijani people's history. The Popular Front-Musavat traitors humiliated and put our people to disgrace in the eyes of the whole world. After all, who was Armenia to defeat us? Who were they? The anti-national Popular Front-Musavat elements gave Shusha to the enemy, then fled and went into hiding.
After that, Armenian vandals razed all our cities to the ground. While visiting the liberated lands, I see this with my own eyes, and the whole world should see it too. They have destroyed our mosques, graves, historical sites and all our buildings. The contemptible enemy also destroyed this mausoleum. In this part of the mausoleum, there were patterns. Pictures of that are available. All of that has been demolished and looted, and the mausoleum is destroyed.
How hostile they must have been to commit these atrocities. The perpetrators are the Sargsyan-Kocharyan duo. It is the Sargsyan-Kocharyan duo that has brought our cities to this plight. We have crushed the thugs and Khojaly executioners -, those fake heroes. We have annihilated their army. Climbing cliffs, we recaptured Shusha from their army and showed heroism. We have crushed their military by fighting with light weapons and knives against cannons and tanks. Where were they? They fled and hid in Yerevan. One of them ventured to come here but ran away like a rabbit five days later. The other did not speak at all. There is a third one, war criminal Ohanyan, born here on our lands. He allegedly came here to defend Shusha during the war. We chased him away like a dog. He is still hanging around in Armenia. Whenever he opens his mouth, he says ugly words. Everyone saw the fate of those who were trying to annoy us. Let no-one forget this iron fist. We broke the enemy's back. If necessary, we will break it again. Kocharyan-Sargsyan, the Azerbaijani people's enemies, you have brought this place to this condition. I came as the Commander-in-Chief of a victorious army, and I stand here. I stand here on my land. There will be no traces of you here again.
Today, some elements calling themselves politicians in Nagorno-Karabakh are trying to raise their heads again. Let them not test our patience and not forget the 44-day war. They claim that they will build an army and take back the lands. Come on! Take it! Come here; you are close. Come and try to take it, and I will see how you do that. We have chased you away like dogs, we have thrown you out, we have sent you to hell.
Vagif Poetry Days will be reestablished. I have already issued the instruction, and they will be held this year. The Khari Bulbul festival will be held this year. We are already starting the reconstruction of Shusha. A master plan is being prepared. All buildings have been inspected. As Azerbaijan's cultural capital, Shusha will become one of the world's most beautiful cities as it has always been the case. The loathsome enemy has destroyed all our historical sites. But we will restore them and return their former glory. The people of Azerbaijan will live in Shusha forever. Shusha is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!
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As part of the visit to Shusha, President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva also visited the Jidir Duzu.
President Ilham Aliyev said:
- This is the Jidir Duzu plain, dear and native to all of us. One cannot imagine Azerbaijan without Shusha and the latter without the Jidir
Duzu. We have returned to Shusha, we have returned to Jidir Duzu. This historic place will exude the sound of mugham. Azerbaijani songs will be performed here. Significant events, weddings and celebrations will take place here.
Some time ago, the occupying forces committed sordid actions to insult our dignity, to insult the people of Azerbaijan in this place that is sacred to us – the whole world is already aware of this. They danced "Yalli" here. There is no trace of them here. We kicked them out of here. The Jidir Duzu, Shusha and Karabakh are free now. These lands' real
owners have returned; with arms and flag in their hands and love for the
Motherland in their hearts. Patriotism brought us to Victory. Patriotism has become the main factor in our Victory.
I am delighted that a patriotic and strong young generation raised in the national spirit has grown up in Azerbaijan in recent years. I have been the leader of Azerbaijan for 17 years. Those who grew up over these years have liberated these lands. Our citizens of all generations have made an outstanding contribution to this Victory. However, I must also say that the younger generation performed the main task. Those who were 10 and 15 years old in 2003 are now 27-32 years old. Their patriotic upbringing and hatred of the enemy led us to Victory and restored Azerbaijan's historical justice. The younger generation, the older generation, experienced people, all our people, all ethnic groups, all religions are united in one fist. This symbol of our Victory was not chosen by chance. I have said this before, but I want to repeat that this fist is both about strength and unity. We already had a sufficiently high level of agreement, and it will be even stronger from now on. United countries get the upper hand. Determined leaders get the upper hand - leaders who do not look up to anyone, not afraid of anyone, and defend national interests. Everyone saw this in the example of Azerbaijan.
We have won, and Armenia has lost. At the same time, we are right. Our cause was one of justice. Armenia's cause was one of aggression. Justice has prevailed thanks to our strength and resolve, and our policies and unity! Glory to the people of Azerbaijan! Long live Azerbaijan!
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President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva then familiarized themselves with Gazanchi church in Shusha.
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During the occupation, the Armenians started to construct a new building to move the "parliament" of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh republic" to Shusha. Shusha was liberated from occupation on November 8, 2020. The construction of the "parliament" building of the so-called regime was left unfinished.
President Ilham Aliyev said:
- They had plans to move the parliament of the self-styled "Nagorno-Karabakh republic" to Shusha. It was yet another attempt to Armenianize the city of Shusha. They had started the construction. They had begun constructing this building as the parliament of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh republic". But they failed to complete it. We, the actual owners of these lands, are back. We kicked them out of here, so their ugly deeds never materialized. The parliament went to hell, and so did the status. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!
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President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva then viewed the destroyed by Armenian vandals building of Shusha Real School.
