Baku, December 10, AZERTAC

A Victory parade dedicated to Victory in the Patriotic War has been held at Azadlig Square, Baku.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, first lady Mehriban Aliyeva, President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan attended the Victory parade.

Deputy Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Karim Valiyev awarded with “Zafar” Order, was the commander of the Victory parade dedicated to the magnificent Victory in Azerbaijan’s Patriotic War-“The Iron Fist ”operation.

The parade featured more than 3,000 personnel, about 150 military hardware, including the state-of-the-art military equipment, missiles and artillery systems, air defense systems, as well as warships and boats. The parade also featured part of the military booty seized by the Azerbaijani Army from the destroyed enemy during the Patriotic War.

A military orchestra played the “Azerbaijan fanfare”.

Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov reported to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Victorious Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The heads of state saluted the soldiers.

A military orchestra played the national anthems of the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev made a speech at the parade.

Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

- Dear President of the Republic of Turkey, my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan! 

Dear servicemen!

Distinguished guests!

Ladies and gentleman!

First of all, may I request that a minute’s silence be observed in memory of our martyrs who died in the Patriotic War.

May God rest all our martyrs in peace!

It is a historic day today. The Victory Parade is being held at Azadlig Square today. I am very glad that the President of the Republic of Turkey, my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has accepted my invitation to take part in this parade. At the same time, a large delegation from Turkey, Turkish soldiers and officers are present here. This once again demonstrates our unity, friendship and brotherhood.

From the first days of the Patriotic War, or rather from the first hours, we have felt the support of Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has supported Azerbaijan's just cause from the first hours. His open, unequivocal and harsh statements made the Azerbaijani people very happy. My brother said that Azerbaijan was right in this war! He said that Azerbaijan was not alone and Turkey was always with Azerbaijan. This is a manifestation of our unity and brotherhood. Turkey's political and moral support for Azerbaijan makes every Azerbaijani citizen proud and happy, and today, when we participate in the Victory Parade together, we once again show our unity to our peoples and indeed to the whole world.

In forty-four days, Azerbaijan won a brilliant victory and defeated Armenia. Azerbaijan has ended the occupation. Every single day of these 44 days is our glorious history. The Azerbaijani Army advanced every day, liberated new cities, villages, settlements and heights every day. Azerbaijani soldiers and Azerbaijani officers were fighting for one goal - to put an end to this occupation, to this injustice, to celebrate a victory of historical justice, and we have succeeded.

Azerbaijani territories have been under occupation for about 30 years. In the early 1990s, Armenia's policy of aggression against Azerbaijan led to the occupation of our lands. In fact, Armenia's aggressive policy began in the late 1980s. At that time, 100,000 Azerbaijanis living in the present-day Republic of Armenia were expelled from their ancestral lands. Zangazur, Goycha and Iravan districts are our historical lands. Our people have lived in these lands for centuries, but the Armenian leadership expelled 100,000 Azerbaijanis from their native lands at the time. After that, the same situation was observed in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian side used force to commit a war crime against the civilian population of Azerbaijan, perpetrated the Khojaly genocide. Then, in May 1992, the occupation of Shusha and Lachin created a geographical link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The occupation of Kalbajar district in April 1993 aggravated the situation and, in fact, led to the continuation of the policy of subsequent occupation.

For many years, we have been delivering the truth about this issue at all international events. A lot has been done, and our efforts have paid off. Although we have regained our territorial integrity on the battlefield, I believe that our political and diplomatic efforts in recent years have borne fruit. All leading international organizations recognized and supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Four resolutions of the UN Security Council, resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement, the European Parliament and other organizations supported the just cause of Azerbaijan. Thus, a legal basis was created for resolving the conflict. At the same time, as a result of our focused efforts, the world community was fully informed about the conflict and the history of Karabakh. Armenia’s false propaganda was stopped and the whole world saw that Karabakh is our ancient historical land. For centuries, the Azerbaijani people have lived and built in these lands. At the same time, the whole world saw that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan in terms of international law.

We have been gaining strength over the years, strengthening our economy, working in the political arena, within international organizations and within the country, strengthening our army. As a result, Azerbaijan has undergone a successful development in recent years, and year after year, our superiority became more pronounced. Armenia could not compete with us. I have repeatedly said over the past 17 years that if Armenia does not withdraw its occupying forces from our lands of its own free will, we will resolve this issue by military means. When I was elected President in 2003, I swore on the Constitution and the Holy Quran that I would protect the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Today, I can say with great pride that Azerbaijan has achieved what it wanted and restored historical justice and international law.

We have been closely following the processes taking place in the world. We saw that international law, its norms and principles have been flagrantly violated in recent years. Some countries use force to achieve their goals, international law and UN Security Council resolutions remain on paper. Under such circumstances, a military solution to the conflict was inevitable. In addition, in recent years, especially in the last two years, Armenia's provocative steps, statements and actions have made war inevitable. The very harmful and dangerous statements of the Armenian leadership almost put an end to the talks. By saying that “Karabakh is Armenia”, the Armenian leadership put an end to the talks. Settlement of Armenians from abroad in our historical lands is a war crime. It runs counter to international conventions. This, in fact, put an end to the talks, made the talks meaningless. We saw and felt this, and conveyed our message to the world community from international platforms. In September this year, three days before the war, I said at the UN General Assembly that Armenia was preparing for a new war and that Armenia must be stopped. And this is what happened. There were three military provocations against us this year. In July, a military provocation was committed on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, when Armenia wanted to occupy our lands. But they got a fitting rebuff and we pushed them back. In August, a sabotage group was sent to Azerbaijan, and that sabotage group was neutralized. Finally, on 27 September, our villages and military positions came under artillery fire, causing casualties among civilians and servicemen. We said enough is enough, this occupation must and will end. As Commander-in-Chief, I gave an order to our army to end the occupation and punish the occupier. Azerbaijan achieved what it wanted in 44 days and restored justice.

Every single day of these 44 days is our glorious history. Every day Azerbaijan was advancing. For these 44 days, there was not a single day on which we withdrew. We broke through the fortifications Armenia had built in almost 30 years. These fortifications were built in such a way as not to let Azerbaijan pass through, not to let our soldiers pass through them. At the same time, the geographical terrain of Nagorno-Karabakh was more favorable for the Armenian side. Azerbaijani soldiers and officers completed their glorious mission with great heroism and courage and liberated our native lands from occupiers. Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli districts, as well as Sugovushan settlement, Hadrut settlement, a part of Khojaly district, a part of Kalbajar district, the Murovdag range, the southern part of Lachin district, strategic heights were liberated from the enemy on the battlefield. The Azerbaijani flag was hoisted there. Our glorious war ended in Shusha. The liberation of Shusha on 8 November is our historic achievement. Shusha was our first occupied city and it was last to be liberated. After the liberation of Shusha, the enemy's back was broken and it was forced to surrender. The liberation of Shusha is a historic event. Our army, our heroic sons crossed mountains, valleys, forests, paths, crossed steep cliffs, climbed rocks to reach Shusha, destroyed the enemy in a hand-to-hand fight and raised the Azerbaijani flag in Shusha. A day later, another 70 villages were liberated, and Armenia surrendered, raised a white flag, was brought to its knees, received its deserved punishment, and started asking for help. We have destroyed Armenia on the battlefield. We have shattered the myth the Armenians had created for years. They had created a myth by spreading false information about their army, claiming that the Armenian army is invincible. In a matter of 44 days, the Armenian army was destroyed, its military equipment was destroyed, its manpower was destroyed, and Azerbaijan showed its strength and power.

I said that we were gathering strength and we did. We have won this victory both due to professionalism and heroism, and due to the national spirit. We were right. Justice was on our side. When our soldiers and officers attacked, they were driven by the dream to liberate our native land from the occupiers. On 10 November, Armenia was forced to sign an act of capitulation. According to this act of capitulation, Kalbajar, Lachin and Aghdam districts were returned to Azerbaijan without a single shot being fired, and the Azerbaijani flag was raised there. This shows that we have won the war both on the battlefield and in the political arena. However, many, especially the mediators dealing with this issue, have repeatedly said that there is no military solution to the conflict. We have proved that there is a military solution to the conflict. Otherwise, the neither-war-nor-peace situation would have lasted for another 30 years. How much longer could we tolerate that? How much patience were we supposed to show? I have repeatedly said that the patience of the Azerbaijani people had run out, and if Armenia does not leave the occupied territories of its own free will, we will expel them from there. They must get out of our lands! I said this before and during the war, in my addresses to the nation and in my interviews with foreign media. I said that Armenia must get out of our lands of its own accord, withdraw from our lands. Otherwise, we will go to the end, and we did go to the end. This is why we won on the battlefield. After that, we won politically and forced the enemy to leave Kalbajar, Lachin and Aghdam districts, leave our lands.

This is a historic victory. The people of Azerbaijan have been waiting for this day for about 30 years, waiting for the order of the Commander-in-Chief for about 30 years. I have repeatedly said to the people of Azerbaijan that we must be stronger and we know what to do, when and how to do it. Life has shown that we took timely steps, mobilized all our resources, created an iron fist and crushed the enemy’s head. During the war, I said that our iron fist embodies both our unity and strength. This iron fist broke the enemy's back and crushed the enemy's head. We are celebrating this holiday as a heroic nation today. The victorious Azerbaijani Army has fulfilled its historic mission and defeated Armenia. The Armenian army is almost non-existent. It has been destroyed. After that, if Armenian fascism ever raises its head again, the result will be the same. Again, Azerbaijan's iron fist will break their back.

A new era is beginning for us now - an era of creation. The hated enemy has destroyed all the occupied lands. This information is already available to everyone. There are videos. My visits to the liberated territories show this. All buildings, all historical sites, mosques, graves, cemeteries have been destroyed by the hated enemy. We will restore them all. Restoration work has already begun.

I want to highlight the heroism of the Azerbaijani people again. Defeated on the battlefield, the hated enemy committed war crimes against the civilian population and fired at our cities with ballistic missiles, phosphorus bombs and cluster munitions. As a result of this cowardly shelling, about 100 civilians, including children and women, have been killed. More than 400 civilians have been injured, more than 5,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged. However, Azerbaijani citizens did not take a single step back from their land. They said that they would rather die than retreat, that they would go all the way to the end. During the war, there were more than 10,000 deserters in the Armenian army. There were not a single deserter in the Azerbaijani Army. Our wounded soldiers and officers were asking doctors in military hospitals and clinics to heal them as soon as possible, that they must return to the battlefield and complete their mission. The people of Azerbaijan have shown their greatness, their high moral spirit. The very cause of this victory is the Azerbaijani people. We have fulfilled our historic mission by showing unity, resolve, determination and national spirit.

From now on, Azerbaijan will only develop. Life will return to our liberated lands. I said that each of us must be active in this work. Together we will rebuild our cities and villages destroyed by the enemy. We have the resolve and the opportunities to do so.

There have been many parades at Azadlig Square, but this parade is of particular importance. This is the Victory Parade. This is a historic event. In one of the parades, I said that the flag raised in Lalatapa in 2016 would be brought to the parade. I said that the day would come when the Azerbaijani flag raised in the liberated lands would be brought to Azadlig Square, and this day has arrived. We, the people of Azerbaijan, are witnessing this historic day. From now on, we will only move forward.

I would like to end my speech with a well-known saying. Everyone knows that the Armenian leadership said a year ago that “Karabakh is Armenia and full stop”. I said, “Karabakh is Azerbaijan and exclamation mark”. Today, the whole world sees that Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Karabakh is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Long live the Azerbaijani Army! Long live Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship and brotherhood! Long live Azerbaijani soldiers!

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President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan then addressed the parade.

Speech by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

- Dear Mr. President, my dear Brother!

Heroic personnel of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan!

My Azerbaijani brothers!

I greet you with the most sincere feelings, love and respect.

We are very pleased to be with you on your Victory Day.

I express my gratitude to my brother Ilham Aliyev for the invitation and hospitality.

May Allah rest the souls of the heroes who became martyrs in this glorious struggle of Azerbaijan, which lasted 44 days. I wish our Ghazis a speedy recovery.

As poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade said:

(recites a poem)

I congratulate the personnel of the Azerbaijani Army, who have returned Karabakh to their homeland after 30 years of waiting. I bow my head to the mothers who sent their children to the front and blessed them with their prayers.

Just as the carnations laid on the graves of the martyrs on 20 January remind us of independence, the Khari-Bulbul flower growing in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has become a symbol of freedom of the Azerbaijani lands today.

The biggest contribution to this success achieved by Azerbaijan in both the military and diplomatic spheres was undoubtedly made by my dear brother, Mr. President Ilham Aliyev. At the same time, my brother Ilham Aliyev made the dream bequeathed to him by the late Heydar Aliyev. Taking this opportunity, I want to pay tribute to the memory of the founder of strong Azerbaijan, national leader Heydar Aliyev. Inshallah, under the leadership of my brother Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan will write many more heroic pages.

My dear Brother, my dear Azerbaijani people. From the first days, Turkey supported the struggle of Azerbaijan with all its agencies and organizations. We were next to the Azerbaijani brothers with all our capabilities. Turkey has always been guided in relations with Azerbaijan by the slogan of great leader Heydar Aliyev “One nation, two states”. In the words of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, we considered the sadness of Azerbaijan as our own, and its joy as our own. Therefore, Karabakh has been our pain for 30 years. Today we experience the joy of this wound finally healing. Today we are with you to share the joy of this wound healing and to celebrate this glorious victory.

The liberation of Azerbaijani lands from occupation does not mean the end of the struggle. The struggle that has been waged so far in the political and military spheres will henceforth be continued on other fronts. All of us together saw that during 30 years of occupation these regions were completely devastated. There was no stone left here. As my brother Ilham Aliyev said, there was no building in Fuzuli where a flag could be hoisted. All the cities were devastated, all villages were razed to the ground, even cemeteries were destroyed. Mosques and minarets were destroyed. The Armenians not only destroyed everything, but also plundered historical and cultural sites and natural resources. They must be held accountable for all this.

During the war, Azerbaijani lands such as Ganja, Tartar, Aghdam, Barda and Aghjabadi were also targeted. One hundred civilians became martyrs, mothers lost their children, children lost their parents. As a result of the attacks, 416 of our brothers were also wounded. The laws of war were flagrantly violated. Human dignity was violated. Those who supposedly do not see this have blinded not only their eyes but also their conscience. They have to answer for everything.

One million of our brothers - refugees and internally displaced persons who have been away from their homes for years, longing for their homeland - are now looking forward to returning to their lands. Inshallah, we believe that the wait of our brothers will come to an end very soon.

My dear brothers, those who brought Nagorno-Karabakh only disasters, genocide and tears should already come to their senses. The leaders of Armenia used the wealth of the people in order to keep the Azerbaijani lands under occupation. If this potential had not been wasted on meaningless defensive lines, on the emotions of leaders whose eyes were covered with hatred and blood, the picture could be completely different today. We hope Armenian politicians analyze this well and take bold steps to build a future based on peace and stability.

We also hope the Armenian people get rid of the shackles of the diaspora, which doomed them to poverty with their lies about the past. They must understand that it is impossible to achieve anything at the instigation of Western imperialists. Instead of enmity, they should think about ties based on good neighborliness. If the Armenian people learn a lesson from what they experienced in Karabakh, it will be the beginning of a new era in the region.

Despite so many tragedies the Azerbaijani people have endured, my brother Ilham Aliyev demonstrates a commendable stance towards sustainable development. We, too, support these well-willed aspirations of Mr. President and want them to be appreciated.

Glory to Allah, thanks to the dedication of our martyrs, Azerbaijan has again secured its territorial integrity. After many years, Azerbaijani lands were reunited with the waters of the Tartar River. The fog in Shusha mountains is no longer boring. The Khari-Bulbul flower, which was held in captivity, is free now and will become even more beautiful. The Kandalanchay River will become fuller. The Araz will sing its song even louder. The voices singing Karabakh Shikastasi will sound louder.

(recites a poem)

Lachin, whose beauty we admire, is free now. Just like Lachin, Shusha, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan, Gubadli, Aghdam and Kalbajar are free now.

Today the soul of Azerbaijan's national poet, great fighter Ahmad Javad will rejoice. Today the soul of Nuri Pasha, Enver Pasha, brave soldiers of the Caucasian Islamic Army will rejoice. Today the soul of one of the first Azerbaijani martyrs, Mubariz Ibrahimov, will rejoice. Today is a day of victory and pride for all of us, for the entire Turkic world.

I am infinitely grateful to the Almighty for these days given to us. With all my heart, I want to repeat today: Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Karabakh has already reunited with the Motherland. The 30-year wait is over. The further goal of Turkey and Azerbaijan is to make these lands even more comfortable, to achieve their further development, to turn them into a space where our children will live even better. Walking hand in hand, Turkey and Azerbaijan, with the permission of Allah, will overcome the difficulties and achieve even greater success. May Allah help us!

Concluding my speech with these words, I cordially congratulate all the Azerbaijani people, my dear brother President Ilham Aliyev and the valiant Azerbaijani Army, the Turkish army. Once again, I pay tribute to the blessed memory of the martyrs and wish our Ghazis a speedy recovery. Thank you. God bless you!

Х Х Х

Following the speeches of the heads of state, the Victory parade started. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces’ personnel marched to the podium under the State Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Victory Flag of the 44-day Patriotic War which was inscribed in golden letters in the country’s glorious military history.