In a historic visit to Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev raised the Azerbaijani flag in the region’s main city on October 15, solidifying Baku’s dominance over the area following a swift offensive last month.
This marked Aliyev’s first trip to the city, known as Khankendi to Azerbaijan and Stepanakert to Armenia, since it fell under Armenian separatist control in the early 1990s.
Azerbaijan presidential office released images of Aliyev touring the newly-acquired Karabakh territory after Azerbaijani forces successfully reclaimed it in a lightning-fast offensive that ended three decades of Armenian separatist rule.
Dressed in military attire, Aliyev raised the Azerbaijani flag, kissing the national flag before it was hoisted in the territories. Proudly raising the flag, the president said “we deserve this Victory. The people of Azerbaijan achieved this victory at the cost of their blood and lives.”
His first stopover was the scenic Sarsang Reservoir in Karabakh and then, he proceeded to the town of Aghdara. He then visited Khankendi where Azerbaijan’s counterterrorism operation against separatists succeeded in ensuring Baku’s full control in Karabakh, retaken from Armenia after a 2020 war.
Aliyev also traveled to Khojaly where 613 civilians were killed in 1992 and the town of Askeran. His itinerary also included a village of Shusha and a town near Khankendi.
Azerbaijani forces swiftly neutralized separatist resistance in a 24-hour counterterrorism operation, leading to the surrender or capture of their leaders.
Azerbaijan government is now focusing on the reintegration of ethnic Armenians who lived under separatist rule in Karabakh and seeks peaceful dialogue with Armenia. The majority of the ethnic Armenians who previously inhabited the region have since moved to Armenia.
Aliyev’s visit coincided with the 20th anniversary of his presidency, during which he consistently pledged to regain control of Karabakh. In the last two decades, “Azerbaijan has become stronger. Azerbaijan has been able to take its rightful place on the global scale. Azerbaijan is now being reckoned with in the world,” Aliyev said in his speech.
This symbolic journey marks a significant milestone in Baku’s efforts to assert its authority in the region, following the 2020 war that led to the expulsion of separatists and the beginning of a new chapter for Nagorno-Karabakh.