Azerbaijan's Victory Day celebrated at event in Istanbul

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Azerbaijan’s Victory Day against Armenia in the Karabakh War was marked Friday with an event at Istanbul University’s culture and convention center.

Speaking about Türkiye’s and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for Azerbaijan's victory, Sevil Mikayilova, an Azerbaijani parliamentarian said: "The Azerbaijani people gratefully remember this support.” She said the “brotherhood and strategic cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan has further developed."

Under an order from Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev after the victory, the army began to be restructured on the Turkish army model, she said.

In addition to highlighting the importance of the Turkish people and Erdogan's support in the victory, Zaur Allahverdizade, Azerbaijan's Istanbul Consul said: "The Karabakh War was a milestone for the Turkic world."

Ramin Sadikov, an academic from Bayburt University, said the two countries acted in coordination in the international arena after the war.

The event was organized by several local and international NGOs with the support of Istanbul University. It was hosted by an Azerbaijani lawmaker, Azerbaijan's Istanbul Consul, academics and the heads of the NGOs.

Aliyev signed a decree Dec. 3, 2020, "on the establishment of Victory Day in the Republic of Azerbaijan" on Nov. 8.

Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Baku liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Moscow-brokered truce. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.