Turkish parliament speaker greets Azerbaijan on Karabakh victory anniversary

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish parliament speaker on Monday greeted Azerbaijan on the first anniversary of its win in the 2020 Karabakh war.

"Under the strong leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan ended the 30-year occupation, making history in 44 days," Mustafa Sentop told his counterpart Sahibe Gafarova in a letter marking Azerbaijan's victory.

Shusha, which was liberated on Nov. 8, 2020, has "great meaning for all of us," Sentop said, as "Azerbaijan crowned its victory on the field" with the tripartite declaration between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.

The liberation of Shusha – known as the pearl of Karabakh – led to the recognition of defeat by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as the cessation of the hostilities between Baku and Yerevan.

"I wish health, peace and prosperity to the friendly and brotherly people of Azerbaijan, and success to you and to the esteemed members of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan," Sentop added.

- Liberation of Karabakh

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

Prior to that, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory was under illegal occupation.

The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, with the cease-fire seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.

Two months later, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It also included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.