Today, 4 years have passed since the Shusha victory, which determined the fate of the 44-day Patriotic War, ending almost 30 years of military occupation and aggression, and creating new realities and historical opportunities for peace in the region. This date, which represents the beginning of a new era for our country and region, is celebrated as Victory Day following the relevant Order of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Notwithstanding the grave economic, social, and humanitarian consequences of Armenia’s military aggression and 30-year-long occupation, the blatant violation of our territorial integrity and sovereignty, Azerbaijan was a party that made constant efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully.

However, Armenia’s continuation of the illegal military occupation and steps to maintain its consequences, carrying on illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, and breaking the negotiation process while resorting to unacceptable rhetoric such as “new wars for new territories” and “Garabagh is Armenia” led to the failure of the peaceful settlement process of the conflict.

Following the political provocations, Armenia’s another large-scale offensive on 27 September 2020 forced Azerbaijan to take measures in accordance with its right to self-defense as enshrined in the UN Charter. The counter-offensive operation started on the same day marked the beginning of the 44-day Patriotic War – the path to victory.

Armenia, aiming at sustaining the illegal military occupation, and to undermine our people’s will, resorted to the practice of targeting civilians committing grave war crimes against civilians in densely populated areas such as Ganja, Barda, and Tartar which were far from the regions where military operations were conducted.

However, as a result of the perseverance and bravery of the glorious Army of Azerbaijan, led by the victorious Commander-in-Chief during the Patriotic War, cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, as well as Shusha city which has special symbolic value and importance for the Azerbaijani people, and more than 300 settlements were liberated from occupation. 8 November – Shusha victory assured the return of the occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions based on the trilateral statement dated 10 November 2020.

Immediately after the Patriotic War, Azerbaijan proposed a peace initiative in the region, declaring that its regional vision and approach are based on sustainable peacebuilding.

Nevertheless, Armenia’s non-withdrawal of the occupying forces from our territories, ongoing military-political provocations, illegal exploitation of our natural resources, and landmine threat to the lives and well-being of our citizens in gross violation of the trilateral statement, necessitated the launch of counter-terrorism measures against the Armenian armed forces, the remnants of the occupation period, and the puppet regime established by Armenia in our territories.

Thus, the 44-day Patriotic War and the counter-terrorism measures carried out in the Garabagh region ensured the restoration of our territorial integrity and sovereignty leading to the emergence of historical conditions for sustainable peacebuilding.

Currently, significant progress has been made in the bilateral negotiations with Armenia on the draft peace agreement, which is being held at our country’s initiative.

However, notwithstanding the progress of negotiations, there are still challenges and threats to a successful conclusion of the peace process. In particular, ongoing territorial claims against our country enshrined in the Constitution of Armenia, as well as the militarization of Armenia against the backdrop of the presence of parties that provoke this country to military aggression once again are obstacles to sustainable peace.

Armenia must learn from history and finally realize that territorial claims against its neighbors will not yield any results.

On 8 November – Victory Day, we commemorate our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of our country with deep respect and gratitude, wish our war heroes good health, development and prosperity to our country and people, peace and tranquility to our region and the world.

Happy Victory Day!