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Azerbaijan proudly displayed Turkish-made drones during today’s military parade in Baku, celebrating its victory over Armenia in the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, DPA reported.
It is believed that it was Bayraktar TB2 combat drones imported by the Azerbaijani army that gave Azerbaijan an advantage in the battle for Nagorno-Karabakh, added BTA.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a televised speech in which he called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev his brother.
“Today is a day of victory and pride for the Turkish world,” Erdogan said at a parade attended by the Turkish military. According to him, Turkey and Azerbaijan will continue to support each other.
Armenia accuses Turkey of directly intervening in the conflict. Ankara denies it.
Azerbaijan has forced Armenia to relinquish control of a large territory in Nagorno-Karabakh under a ceasefire agreement negotiated by Russia on November 9.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been largely controlled by Armenian troops for decades, is considered by the UN to be part of Azerbaijan.
In a speech at the parade, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan had “destroyed” the Armenian army in 44 days. Armenia “surrendered and was forced to capitulate,” he said. According to him, the Azerbaijani army was like an “iron fist” that “crushed the head of the enemy”.
The conflict, which erupted in late September, has so far claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people and was the deadliest between Azerbaijan and Armenia in decades.
Erdogan congratulated Azerbaijan on its “military and diplomatic success”, “uniting Karabakh with its homeland in 30 years”.
Azerbaijan lost much of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Armenian war in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Later, both countries gained independence in the collapse of the Soviet Union.