Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the military parade dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the Victory in the Patriotic War

AZERBAIJAN, November 8 - – Dear servicemen.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I sincerely congratulate you and the entire Azerbaijani people on the fifth anniversary of our glorious Victory. I also warmly welcome the leaders and delegations of the fraternal countries who have accepted my invitation.

Today, my dear brother, the President of the Republic of Türkiye, esteemed Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is participating in our parade. From the very first hours of the Second Karabakh War, my dear brother showed his support for Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani people and the Azerbaijani Army. His political and moral support gave us further strength and inspiration. The fraternal Turkish people have consistently supported Azerbaijan under the leadership of esteemed President Erdogan. His statement during the war that “Azerbaijan is not alone, Turkiye is with Azerbaijan!” was a very serious message to the whole world. The Azerbaijani people will never forget this fraternal support.

One year after the war and our glorious Victory, the presidents of Turkiye and Azerbaijan signed the Shusha Declaration in the historic city of Shusha, raising our relations to the highest level – that of an alliance. Today, the participation of Turkish soldiers in our military parade is yet another manifestation of our unity.

Five years ago, my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also with us in the Victory Parade. Today, another dear brother is participating here with us. The Prime Minister of brotherly Pakistan, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, is our guest. The state and people of Pakistan showed great support and solidarity with Azerbaijan during the 44-day Patriotic War. Today, for the first time, Pakistani soldiers are also participating in the event with us at Azadlig Square. This is a manifestation of the unity of the peoples and armies of three countries – Azerbaijan, Turkiye and Pakistan.

I welcome all the guests from friendly countries. Their presence here with us today once again clearly demonstrates our unity, solidarity and mutual support.

In the early 1990s, as a result of Armenia's policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, approximately 20 percent of our territory was occupied. One million Azerbaijani citizens became refugees and internally displaced. War crimes were committed against our people. The Khojaly genocide was committed, a policy of ethnic cleansing was carried out. But this did not break our will. Azerbaijan never intended to come to terms with the occupation. And while we were conducting peace negotiations, we consistently stated that if the negotiations failed to yield results, Azerbaijan would liberate its historical and ancestral lands by all means, including military force.

The result of the lengthy negotiations was zero progress. The main reason for that was that Armenia had no intention of vacating even an inch of our land of its own accord. Some states supporting Armenia stood in solidarity with them by providing political, economic and military support. Their idea was to sever our ancestral Garabagh land from Azerbaijan and annex it to Armenia. Our policy was to restore our full territorial integrity and sovereignty. Back in 2003, when I was first elected President of Azerbaijan, I declared that we would liberate our native land at any cost. We gathered strength and multiplied it month after month, year after year. We were able to make our voice heard in the international arena. Our country's position on the conflict within all leading international organizations took precedence. Many decisions and resolutions formed the legal and political basis of our Victory. We built a strong economy — had we not done so, our financial capacity would have remained very limited. We had gained economic independence, and Azerbaijan today is not economically dependent on any country. This gave us greater political power. We were a country pursuing an independent policy. These factors, along with others, brought us closer to the glorious Victory.

Public and political stability was fully established in Azerbaijan. Civil solidarity, civil unity, the unity between the people and the government have been the key factors. We have raised the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism, in the spirit of love for the Motherland, and our young people, putting their chests forward and going under the bullets for 44 days, liberated our historical lands from the occupiers. Patriotism and our moral qualities are some of the key factors behind our glorious Victory.

We have successfully implemented energy and transport projects, becoming an indispensable country for many countries across a vast geography. Along with all these factors, army building was always a priority. We have created a strong army, strong Armed Forces. We have increased the combat capability of our army, equipped our army with the most modern weaponry and ammunition. All these and other factors paved the way for our Victory, for our glorious Victory.

Armenia, however, failed to draw the right conclusions and, in the run-up to the Second Karabakh War, became even more impudent by putting forward new territorial claims against us. They were threatening us with a new war. They even said that they would wage a new war for new lands and occupy all of Azerbaijan. They said that their tanks would be on the streets of Baku. They said that they would be drinking tea in Baku. In fact, their dreams did come true. We made them come true. Their tanks are on display in the Military Trophies Park today. Armenian war criminals are standing trial in Baku and drinking Azerbaijani tea in the pre-trial detention center.

For 44 days, our glorious Armed Forces moved forward every day, not taking a single step back. They showed great professionalism, courage, heroism and selflessness. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace. We have asserted ourselves in the whole world as a strong state and a victorious people. We have proven this on the battlefield. Over the course of the 44 days, more than 300 cities and villages were liberated from the enemy on the battlefield. We were pushing forward, chasing the enemy, and every liberated city and village, every Azerbaijani Flag raised there inspired our Army and people even more. Finally, on November 8, the city of Shusha, which was considered an “impregnable fortress”, was liberated from Armenian occupiers. Our glorious Victory March continued successfully from September 27 to November 8. We kept advancing towards the glorious Victory, crossing mountains, rivers and valleys, climbing steep rocks. The liberation of Shusha exactly five years ago broke the back of the Armenian army, and after that they surrendered. A day later, on the night of November 9-10, Armenia officially surrendered and signed an act of capitulation. Thus, we restored our territorial integrity, historical justice, international law and national dignity ourselves.

Today, Garabagh and East Zangazur are reviving. Today, the Great Return Program is well underway. Schools, hospitals, industrial enterprises, power plants, reservoirs, houses are under construction. More than 60,000 people already live, work and study in the liberated lands. I congratulate my dear people on all these historic achievements once again. We have lived these five years with tremendous pride. I am sure that from now on, the Azerbaijani people will forever live as a heroic and victorious people, and the Azerbaijani state as a victorious state. We, the owners of these lands, have returned to Garabagh and East Zangazur, and we will live forever on these lands from now on. The Azerbaijani Flag will forever fly over them.

I once again sincerely congratulate the entire Azerbaijani people on the occasion of our glorious Victory. I wish the Azerbaijani people good health and continued success. Garabagh is Azerbaijan!