Azerbaijan holds victory parade in Baku

A Victory Parade dedicated to the end of Second Karabakh War was held on 10 December in Baku’s Freedom Square.

President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady and Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his wife Emine Erdogan took part in the celebration.

Addressing the parade, Aliyev proclaimed that: ‘Today is a historic day!’

‘The presence of Recep Tayyip Erdogan here today shows our unity. Turkey’s political support for Azerbaijan makes every Azerbaijani citizen happy!’

 ‘The liberation of Shusha from occupation is our historic achievement! With that, the enemy surrendered! Our army, our heroic sons, crossed the mountains and valleys and defeated the enemy in a hand-to-hand battle in Shusha!’

Aliyev also appeared to make claims on areas of Armenia. ‘Zangazur [Syunik], Goycha [Lake Sevan], Yerevan districts are our historical lands’, he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Azerbaijan. ‘After 30 years of longing, I congratulate the soldiers of the Azerbaijani army who reunited Karabakh with the motherland, and I kiss the hands of the mothers who sent them to the front with prayers.’

‘Today is the day when the spirit of Ahmad Javad, Nuru Pasha, the Caucasus Islamic Army is happy.’

He also criticised Armenia. ‘Armenians must answer for all provocations’, Erdogan said. 

‘During the war, Azerbaijani lands such as Barda and Agjabadi were targeted. 100 innocent civilians were killed. The laws of war were not followed. It is our duty to hold them accountable for all of this. ‘

A composition the authorities said was made from the number plates of more than 2,000 Armenian military vehicles was demonstrated with ‘Karabakh is Azerbaijan!’ engraved on the composition.  The composition mirrored a similar wall of Azerbaijani license plates erected following the first war in Martakert (Aghdara), in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The parade featured more than 3,000 personnel, about 150 pieces of military equipment including missile and artillery installations, air defense systems, and a flyover by fighter jets. Turkish soldiers led by Commander-in-Chief Harun Ergen also took part. 

It also featured some of the military equipment captured by the Azerbaijani Army during the war.