The Turkish and Azerbaijani presidents on Thursday addressed a large crowd at liberation celebrations in Baku for Azerbaijani territories liberated from the occupation of Armenian forces.
Attending the ceremony of Victory Parade at the Azerbaijani capital upon invitation of President Ilham Aliyev, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the opening ceremony of the parade.
“TWO STATES, ONE NATION”
The parade is being held at the Azadlig Square to celebrate Azerbaijan’s recent military success in liberating its region of Nagorno-Karabakh from nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation.
Erdoğan in his speech expressed solidarity and unity with Azerbaijan and said: “As Turkey, we have taken the two states, one nation motto of the great leader Aliyev [father of Ilham Aliyev] as a guide in our relations with Azerbaijan.”
Telling that the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from occupation does not mean the struggle is over, the Turkish president said, “The struggle that has been waged through political and military means until now will continue in many different fronts from now on.”
Erdoğan also recalled a nearly 30-year long conflict in the Upper Karabakh, saying: “We all saw that the region turned into ruins [during the Armenian occupation].” “As my brother Ilham Aliyev said, there was no building found in the city of Fuzuli to hoist a flag. All cities were destroyed, all villages were destroyed, even cemeteries were destroyed,” Erdoğan said.
Calling on Azerbaijan and Armenia to rethink relations, as nothing can be gained under the “Western imperialist goading”, he said: “A new era in the region will begin if people of Armenia take lessons from what happened in Karabakh.” “Those who brought nothing but destruction, massacre, and tears to Nagorno-Karabakh now need to come to sense. Armenian officials spent the resources of their people to keep Azerbaijan’s lands under occupation,” he added.
“AZERBAIJAN SHOWS TO THE WHOLE WORLD ITS UNITY WITH TURKEY”
Azerbaijan felt Turkey’s support since the first hours of the recent Patriotic War with the Armenian forces in Karabakh, Aliyev said at the opening ceremony of the parade. Azerbaijan shows to the whole world its unity with Turkey as the leaders of both countries attend the parade, Aliyev added.
He stressed that during the 44-day-war, Armenia committed “war crimes” against the Azerbaijani people, including attacking civilians with prohibited cluster and phosphorus bombs.
“Armenian party committed a massacre against the Azerbaijani people. They committed the Khojaly genocide,” Aliyev stressed. Aliyev added that his country “regained its territorial integrity on the battlefield,” and the Armenian army “fell to its knees” on the battlefield. “Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Today, the whole world sees that Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Long live Turkey-Azerbaijan friendship,” Aliyev also said.