'Turkey working to spur development of liberated Karabakh'

By Ruslan Rehimov

BAKU (AA) – Turkey is doing all it can to spur the development of Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan liberated its territory from nearly three decades of occupation by Armenian forces, said Turkey’s envoy to the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

Praising Azerbaijan's victory on the first anniversary of it liberating Karabakh, Cahit Bagci told Anadolu Agency, visiting its office in Baku, that Azerbaijan achieved victory after a just struggle in the South Caucasus region.

"Azerbaijan secured the justice that proved elusive [in Karabakh]. It fought and managed to preserve its territorial integrity. In this respect, it is a blessed and glorious victory," he said.

Telling how life in Karabakh is starting to get back to normal in just the space of a year, Bagci said Turkey is doing all it can to help the liberated territory recover.

Turkey "has made an open pledge to provide all means of institutional capacity, public and private sector experience to Azerbaijan, and is continuing to do so," he added.

He also praised Anadolu Agency for its efforts during the war, saying that it is an honor “that Anadolu Agency is at every program and everywhere [in the world.]"

- 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.