Baku, August 16, AZERTAC

First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has posted video footages from the visit to Kalbajar and Lachin districts on her official Instagram page.

According to AZERTAC, the post says:

"Dear fellow countrymen,

Our trips to the liberated from occupation districts continue. Today, we visited Kalbajar and Lachin districts. It is with great pleasure that I share with you the footages from our visit.

With deep respect and love,

Your MEHRIBAN".

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In a video recorded in a car on the way to Kalbajar, President Ilham Aliyev says: Mehriban khanim is capturing the spectacular views of Kalbajar as we admire the beautiful nature of Azerbaijan along the way. I am sure that this will be very interesting for those watching this footage. The forests of Kalbajar are already visible. As we know, Kalbajar has a very charming nature - mountains, valleys, forests.

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Look at these ruins. The Armenians destroyed these places when leaving. They have destroyed all the buildings, hydroelectric power stations. These destructions are further evidence of Armenian savagery.

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Houses destroyed by Armenians. This is the territory of Zallar village.

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Gamishli village. We have created our energy infrastructure here. And these high-voltage lines were installed recently.

This asphalt road was also built by the Armenians from Basarkechar. They built an alternative route to the Lachin corridor to go to Kalbajar. And it is a great road. We are using this road now. When this road was under construction, the Azerbaijani side expressed a vehement protest. We were saying that this should not be allowed. This is a part of Armenians' settlement policy. But no-one listened to us. As a result, we have come here and raised our flag. We drove the enemy out of our lands and are using this road now. Armenians have been deprived of this road. So this road can also be considered military booty.

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They wanted to build a third road across Jabrayil. And it was also left unfinished. Their dreams remained unfulfilled.

These are our houses, the houses of the Azerbaijanis destroyed by the Armenians. For 30 years, the Armenians had only exploited our lands, plundered natural resources, destroyed and demolished houses. And then he claimed that this is Armenian land. There has never been Armenian land here, and there never will be. This is the land of Azerbaijan. We, the Azerbaijanis, the owners of these lands, have returned. We have driven the enemy out of our lands, crushed the enemy army and returned here by showing heroism and self-sacrifice.

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We have arrived at the site of the “Kalbajar-1” Hydroelectric Power Station.

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And this is the “Kalbajar” substation. It was built in a short time, only in six months, and will supply electricity to Kalbajar.

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Now we are heading for Lachin district. Then we will go to Kalbajar city. We are going to Lachin district where we will lay the foundation of an airport.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Is this a new road? Or was it here before?

President Ilham Aliyev: No, it was here before. Of course, the Kalbajar-Lachin road will be reconstructed at the highest level. Both tunnels I have just laid the foundation of will make this road even more comfortable. This is a famous tunnel built in Soviet times. It is written here - the construction began in 1958 and the length is only 200 meters. The tunnels we will build are 11 kilometers and 5 kilometers long. This is what Azerbaijan is capable of doing today. And this is the only old road connecting Kalbajar with Lachin. The tunnel already has lighting. When the Armenians were leaving Kalbajar and Lachin, they wanted to blow up this tunnel. Notice how insidious these people were. Look at this part, they wanted to blow it up, but they didn't succeed. They were in a hurry to leave.

Beautiful sights of Azerbaijan. Kalbajar and Lachin districts are among the most beautiful in terms of nature. No matter how much damage the Armenians caused to our nature, they could not completely destroy it.

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President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva met with beekeepers and had a talk with them.

Beekeepers: Bee families have more than doubled in Azerbaijan.

President Ilham Aliyev: Our honey is also of very high quality. The Kalbajar honey will probably be of better quality than others. Therefore, you should both supply the domestic market and export it. Is there anything to show?

Beekeeper: Yes, there is. I will now give you a bee hat.

President Ilham Aliyev: They know who we are, so they won’t touch us. Is this honey?

Beekeeper: Yes, this is honey, real Kalbajar honey. If you would allow me, I would like to give you two of these as a gift.

President Ilham Aliyev: Two would be too many, no. One is enough. We will taste the Kalbajar honey. Is this ready?

Beekeepers: Yes, it is ready. Here is one and I will find the other in another box.

President Ilham Aliyev: No, one is enough. One is enough to taste.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: One is enough.

Beekeepers: It will sting you now.

President Ilham Aliyev: No, it won’t touch us, it knows who we are. Are there other beekeepers besides you?

Beekeepers: Yes, there are other beekeepers too. Five beekeepers have come here as part of a pilot project. Then other beekeepers came as well. Let me take out one more.

President Ilham Aliyev: No, that will do.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: There is a bee on top.

Beekeeper: This one is not fully sealed. I want to give you a fully sealed one.

President Ilham Aliyev: No, this is enough.

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: There are bees there. I am recording.

President Ilham Aliyev: Let's have a picture taken.

Thank you. I promised to all the IDPs that I would return them to their ancestral homeland.

Beekeepers: We believed that, because we believed in you, we believed in our people, we believed in our martyrs. Twenty percent of this year's crop will be sent to the families of martyrs.

President Ilham Aliyev: Very good. You will probably expand your farm.

Beekeeper: Yes, we will expand it because not only Kalbajar but all the liberated lands in general are a great feed base for beekeeping. Armenians had large farms here and were engaged in exports.

President Ilham Aliyev: Beekeeping developed in Kalbajar even during the Soviet times.

Beekeepers: It was in the village itself in Soviet times. The Kalbajar honey was well-known in the Soviet Union. Inshallah, we will return this fame to it.

President Ilham Aliyev: The Armenians have done many illegal things, destroyed and exploited our nature.

Beekeeper: Our ancestral roots are here. My father's grave is here. Armenians have never lived in Kalbajar.

President Ilham Aliyev: I know, never. But then they wanted to appropriate Kalbajar and change its name. But then we also came, taught them a lesson and took back our lands.

Beekeepers: Thank you very much! Thank you!

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you!

First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you, good luck to you! Thank you very much!

President Ilham Aliyev: Say hello to your families.

Beekeepers: May Allah protect you for our people. Thank you!

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We are approaching the city of Kalbajar. We will be in Kalbajar in a few minutes.

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We are in the city of Kalbajar, at the entrance to the city. These are the deeds of savage Armenians. Notice how the Armenians have completely destroyed the city. Savage Armenians have destroyed Kalbajar, as well as other cities and villages of Azerbaijan. All buildings are ravaged. Armenians lived in some buildings illegally. When they were leaving, they set fire to those buildings and knocked them down. Times change, but the ugly face of Armenian fascism doesn’t. When they occupied these lands in the early 1990s, they destroyed our towns and villages. When we drove them out of here in 2020, they cut down trees, burned them and destroyed buildings.

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Kalbajar city. There is not a single safe building on the right or left side of the road even though some Armenians illegally settled in Kalbajar district. However, all houses belonging to the Azerbaijanis have been razed to the ground. This is the city of Kalbajar now. We will rebuild both the city and villages of Kalbajar. All the houses are in ruins.

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Now we come to Istisu. The destroyed Istisu sanatorium is before our eyes. The savage enemy has also demolished this place. Notice what they have done to the sanatorium buildings.

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This monument glorified peace. The savage enemy has demolished even that. They have also demolished it, demolished this building, demolished everything around us. We will restore all these places and life will return here again.

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The sky bids farewell to us. We are approaching the Omar Pass. We are heading back.

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Livestock breeders have also returned to the pastures of Kalbajar. We have returned both beekeepers and livestock breeders. As you can see, they have settled down here. They are also grazing their sheep here. This tradition has also been restored. Before the occupation, livestock breeders always came here. Now they are greeting us. We are also greeting them. Welcome back to your homeland!