Nakhchivan is an ancient land of Azerbaijan, unfortunately, in 1920, Western Zangezur was separated from Azerbaijan by the Soviet authorities, and thus the geographical connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan was cut off.

Axar.az reports that President Ilham Aliyev said this during a joint press statement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is on a visit to Nakhchivan.

"When Armenia began to pursue the policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, they had territorial claims against Nakhchivan as well. Fierce battles were going on here as well. At that time, under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev, the eldest son of Azerbaijan - at that time he was the head of Nakhchivan - Nakhchivan put the enemy in its place and was able to protect its territory," the head of state said.