The liberation of the Azerbaijani city of Shusha determined the outcome of the Second Karabakh War between Baku and Yerevan, chief adviser to the Turkish president Yalcin Topcu said Monday.
Armenian occupiers, who maintained their invasion for 28 years, fled when the heroic sons of Azerbaijan entered Shusha - the pearl of Karabakh, one of the cradles of the culture of the Turkic-Muslim world, on November 8, Topçu said, according to a report by TurkicWorld.
“With this glorious victory, the Armenian occupiers admitted their defeat. I sincerely congratulate the president of Azerbaijan, victorious Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, who showed exemplary leadership, bringing peace to both the region and Azerbaijan on Victory Day," Topcu said.
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 last year, 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, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.
