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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced control of the strategic city of Shusha in the Nagorno Karabakh region, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that Azerbaijan’s control of the rest of its occupied lands is imminent, as he himself said.
Aliyev said in a televised speech yesterday that his country’s forces had recaptured the city of Shusha, ending what he described as their occupation by Armenia 28 years ago.
The conquest of Shusha is a great victory for Azerbaijan after 6 weeks of battles in the Nagorno Karabakh region, which is not internationally recognized.
The importance of the city of Shousha is that it is located on a hill overlooking the regional capital, Stepanakert, which is only a few kilometers away. Armenia’s remaining supply route also passes through Shusha and the link between the Armenian city of Goris and Stepanakert.
The city has a symbolic value for the Azeris, who consider it one of their important cultural centers.
Several Azerbaijani cities witnessed demonstrations by the people, who expressed their joy at the restoration of the city of Shusha by the forces of their country.
The Anadolu Agency correspondent reported that the streets and alleys of the capital, Baku, were festooned with the country’s flags, as people chanted and car horns sounded to celebrate the victory.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Turkish Defense and Foreign Ministers in Baku.
Aliyev thanked Ankara for supporting Azerbaijan in the ongoing conflict over the Karabakh region.
Erdogan criticizes Minsk
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that what he described as the Minsk trio, referring to Russia, the United States and France, ignored and misled the Azerbaijanis for 30 years in the negotiations, and that the Azerbaijanis they are currently achieving victory.
Erdogan added, in his speech during a party event in the Turkish city of Kocaeli, that control of the rest of the Azerbaijani lands is imminent.
For his part, a spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry said clashes are still taking place in Shusha and the issues have yet to be resolved.
The ministry previously said that the fighting is getting more intense on the outskirts of the city, noting that the battles do not stop day and night. He added that the Azeri forces, reinforced with additional equipment and personnel, were able to advance, but the Armenian army constantly resists, causing losses to the attackers.
On the other hand, a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia told the island that many journalists left the city of Stepanakert last night and that civilians were leaving the capital of the region for Armenian lands.
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