Special press release, 8 November 2024: Victory Day
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Azərbaycan Respublikasının |
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Permanent Mission |
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633 Third Avenue, Suite 3210, New York, N.Y. 10017 |
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Victory Day 8 November 2024 Special press release Today the Republic of Azerbaijan commemorates the fourth anniversary of Victory in the Patriotic War to honor the resilience, courage and unity demonstrated by the people of Azerbaijan and sacrifices they made in ending the aggression and occupation, restoring the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensuring their inalienable right to live in peace and security in their ancestral homeland. The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia was sparked by the latter’s territorial claims in the late 1980s, followed by a full-scale aggression in the early 1990s. As a result, a significant part of the territory of Azerbaijan was occupied. Hundreds of cities, towns and villages in Azerbaijan were looted and razed to the ground and more than a million people were forced to leave their homes and were dispossessed. The most serious violations of international law amounting to war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing were committed in the course of the aggression. In 1993, the U.N. Security Council adopted four resolutions condemning the use of force against Azerbaijan and the resulting occupation of its territories, reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of international borders, and demanding immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from all the occupied territories. Convinced of its endless impunity, Armenia refused to implement these resolutions, never engaged faithfully in the peace process and, instead, directed all its efforts at consolidating the occupation and colonizing the seized territories under the cover of the ceasefire and the peace process. Azerbaijan had consistently underlined that aggression and its military consequences do not represent a solution and that it will never compromise its territorial integrity and the rights and freedoms of its citizens. In his address at the general debate of the seventy-fifth session of the U.N. General Assembly, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, stated the following: “The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict must be resolved in the basis of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity has never been and never will be a subject of negotiations. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be completely restored. Garabagh is ancient and historical Azerbaijani land. Garabagh is Azerbaijan.” On 27 September 2020, Armenia launched a provocative military action against Azerbaijan, which was met with a strong and successful counteroffensive. As a result of the 44-day war, thanks to the unwavering determination and valor of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan liberated more than 300 cities, towns and villages from occupation. On 8 November 2020, the city of Shusha, the cultural and historic cradle of Azerbaijan, was liberated. It is the day, on which we celebrate Victory. The local counter-terrorism measures carried out by Azerbaijan in September 2023 brought the final end to the 30-year unlawful occupation of its territories, as well as to the violent separatist and terrorist threat. Azerbaijan legitimately exercised its inherent right and responsibility to protect its people, defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and restore peace, the legal order and stability in the region. The end of the aggression and the liberation of the territories of Azerbaijan from occupation was a long overdue development demanded by international law, the U.N. Charter and the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council. Heroic Victory in the devastating war became a triumph of justice, underscored again the necessity of strict compliance by States with their international obligations and offered a unique opportunity for consolidating peace and promoting development and mutual cooperation in the region. |
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