Today marks the anniversary of the signing of the Trilateral Statement between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Axar.az reports that on September 27, 2020, in response to Armenia's next military aggression, the Azerbaijani people launched the Patriotic War under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, in order to liberate the occupied territories.
As a result of 44 days of military operations, the Victorious Azerbaijani Army liberated the Sugovushan settlement of the Tartar region on October 3, the city of Jabrayil on October 4, the Hadrut settlement of the Khojavend region on October 9, the city of Fuzuli on October 17, the city of Zangilan on October 20, the city of Gubadli on October 25, and the city of Shusha on November 8. In total, more than 300 settlements, as well as important strategic heights in the directions of Aghdara, Murovdag and Zangilan, were liberated from occupation.
With the liberation of Shusha from occupation on November 8, Armenia admitted defeat.
On November 10, a Statement was signed between the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
The statement reads: “We, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, declare the following:
1. A complete ceasefire and all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone are hereby declared from 00:00 Moscow time on November 10, 2020. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, shall remain in the positions they currently occupy.
2. The Aghdam region shall be returned to the Republic of Azerbaijan by November 20, 2020.
3. A peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation consisting of 1,960 armed servicemen, 90 military armored vehicles, 380 vehicles and special equipment shall be deployed along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor.
4. The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation shall be deployed in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces. The term of stay of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation shall be 5 years, and the present provision shall be applied 6 months before the end of the term. If neither Party expresses its intention to terminate the ceasefire, the period shall be automatically extended for another 5 years.
5. In order to increase the effectiveness of monitoring the compliance of the parties to the conflict with the agreements, a peacekeeping center for monitoring the ceasefire shall be established.
6. The Republic of Armenia shall return the Kalbajar region to the Republic of Azerbaijan by November 15, 2020, and the Lachin region by December 1, 2020. The Lachin corridor (5 kilometers wide), which will provide a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and will not touch the city of Shusha, shall remain under the control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Based on the agreement of the Parties, a plan for the construction of a new movement route along the Lachin corridor, which will provide a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, will be determined within the next three years, and this will provide for the future deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to protect this route. The Republic of Azerbaijan shall provide security guarantees for the movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions along the Lachin corridor
7. Internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions under the supervision of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
8. The exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons, as well as bodies, shall be carried out.
9. All economic and transport relations in the region shall be restored. The Republic of Armenia guarantees the security of transport relations between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to organize the unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions. Control over transport relations shall be exercised by the border service bodies of the Federal Security Service of Russia. The construction of new transport communications connecting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the western regions of Azerbaijan shall be ensured by agreement of the parties.
After the signing of the Trilateral Statement, the President of Azerbaijan addressed the people.
In his address, the head of state noted the historical significance of the Trilateral Statement: “Today, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is being put to an end. I believe that the trilateral statement that has just been signed will be the final point in the resolution of the issue.”
The President noted that this statement is our glorious victory: “I am glad that today I am giving this good news to the Azerbaijani people.”
The Azerbaijani leader said that the military stage is over: “The military stage is over, we are moving on to the political issue. It can be said that a document that is of maximum benefit to us has been signed. Pashinyan signed it. There was no other way. In fact,
This is an admission of defeat. This is a military capitulation”.
President Ilham Aliyev also emphasized that the unity of the Azerbaijani people played an important role in achieving victory: “These days we have seen the unity of the Azerbaijani people. Support has come to our army from all regions.
...Once again we saw what a beautiful country and people our country and our people are. Representatives of all nationalities living in our country, representatives of all religious confessions, showed courage, fought the enemy and restored the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. This is our great wealth, our great value. I have said this many times. Armenia is deprived of this happiness. Because it is a monostate, no one except Armenians lives there. It is impossible to find another country like this in Eurasia, in our region. Because no one can live there. Either they are expelled, subjected to ethnic cleansing like Azerbaijanis, or a representative of another nation cannot live there, they are oppressed, oppressed, oppressed. But our advantage lies in this, multinational, multi-confessional Azerbaijan showed itself in this war, representatives of all peoples showed unity, showed heroism. I want to say once again that this war has once again clarified many issues”.
In his address, the head of state also touched upon the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh: “I also want to state one issue, to convey to my dear people. You probably noticed that in this statement there is not a single word about the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, there is none!
... Status has gone to hell, status has gone to gora, status has become gorbagor, there is no status and there will be none. As long as I am President, there will be none. Therefore, this document has great meaning”.
President Ilham Aliyev declared that this war showed the whole world how great the Azerbaijani people are: “This war showed the whole world how great the Azerbaijani people are - an invincible people, an iron-willed people, a victorious people, our victorious army! We are proud of our people, our army! I am sure that every citizen of Azerbaijan considers that these days, these minutes are the happiest days and minutes in his life. I am also happy that I am giving this good news, this good news to the people of Azerbaijan. I am happy that I have signed this historical document. I am happy that we are returning to our Motherland, our native Karabakh, returning to Shusha, the crown of our Karabakh, and we will live in these lands forever! From now on, no one can move us from those lands!
The phrase “Karabakh is Azerbaijan and a cry” was already a symbol of our victory, it has become a symbol. I said this a year ago. I am proud that the phrase I said has already become a national slogan. Today, we can say with great pride that Fuzuli is ours, Jabrayil is ours, Zangilan is ours, Gubadli is ours, Agdam is ours, Lachin is ours, Kalbajar is ours, Shusha is ours, Karabakh is ours, Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Love to the people of Azerbaijan! Long live Azerbaijan!”
According to the statement, from 00:00 Moscow time on November 10, 2020, a ceasefire and all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone have been suspended.
A peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation consisting of 1,960 armed servicemen, 90 military armored vehicles, 380 vehicles and special equipment has been deployed along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor.
The Lachin corridor (5 kilometers wide), which will provide communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, but will not touch the city of Shusha, has been placed under the control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.
In order to increase the effectiveness of monitoring the compliance of the parties to the conflict with the agreements, a Russian-Turkish Joint Monitoring Center has been established.
According to the statement, on November 20, the city of Agdam and the occupied part of the Agdam region were liberated, on November 25, the Kalbajar region, and on December 1, the Lachin region.
Azerbaijan achieved liberation from occupation without any losses.
According to the statement, an exchange of prisoners and bodies was carried out between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
It should be noted that, by the decrees signed by President Ilham Aliyev after the end of the war, the day of the beginning of the Patriotic War - September 27 - was established as Remembrance Day, and the day of the liberation of Shusha from occupation - November 8 - as Victory Day.
At the same time, on April 23, 2023, our territorial integrity was fully restored. Thus, a border checkpoint was established on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the Lachin direction. On September 20, 2023, Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty. As a result of local anti-terrorist measures carried out in less than 24 hours, the Armenian army illegally settled in the territory of Azerbaijan surrendered, accepted Azerbaijan's conditions, and thus Azerbaijan fully ensured its state sovereignty.
Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, October 20, 2023 On the 15th, the glorious tricolor Azerbaijani flag was raised in Khankendi, Aghdara, Khojaly, Askeran and Khojavend.
