President Erdoğan: Today is a day of pride and victory for the entire Turkic world

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined the Victory Parade held at Azadliq Square in Baku to celebrate the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from Armenian occupation.

Making a speech prior to the parade, President Erdoğan expressed his happiness to be with the brotherly people of Azerbaijan.

“TURKEY HAS SUPPORTED AZERBAIJAN’S FIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING”

Congratulating Azerbaijani troops on their victory ending the 30-year-long separation between Karabakh and the motherland, President Erdoğan drew attention to President Ilham Aliyev’s major role in Azerbaijan’s military and diplomatic victory.

Turkey, with all its institutions and organizations, supported Azerbaijan’s fight from the very beginning, underlined President Erdoğan, further stressing that it will continue to stand by the brotherly Azerbaijan with all its capabilities.

“THE LIBERATION OF AZERBAIJANI LANDS DOESN’T MEAN THE STRUGGLE IS OVER”

Pointing out that the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan are always guided by the principle of ‘two states, one nation’, President Erdoğan said: “We are now here to celebrate this glorious victory. However, the liberation of Azerbaijani lands doesn’t mean the struggle is over. The struggle, which has been waged in political and military spheres thus far, will from now on continue in different areas. We all see that these regions, during the 30-year-long occupation period, were totally destroyed and levelled.” Further stressing that “the law of war has severely been violated and human dignity has been trampled upon,” President Erdoğan said that those responsible for these violations must be held to account.

“THE RELATIONS SHOULD BE REVISITED ON THE BASIS OF GOOD-NEIGHBORLINESS RATHER THAN ANIMOSITY”

“Those who brought Nagorno-Karabakh nothing but destruction, massacres and tears should come to their senses without delay,” warned the President, and continued: “Armenian leaders spent the public resources to maintain occupation in Azerbaijani lands. Today we would be witnessing a much more different picture if these resources hadn’t been spent for meaningless defense lines and weapons as well as for the ambitions of incapable leaders motivated by blood and hatred. We hope Armenian politicians will meticulously analyze this and will take brave steps to build a future based on peace and stability. We hope the Armenian people will liberate themselves from the captivity of the diaspora which stalls them with the lies of the past and condemns them to poverty. It should be understood that no result can be achieved with the encouragement of western imperialists and that the relations should be revisited on the basis of good-neighborliness rather than animosity. A new period may start in the region if the Armenian people draw lessons from the incidents in Karabakh.”

“TODAY IS A DAY OF PRIDE AND VICTORY FOR THE ENTIRE TURKIC WORLD”

Describing Azerbaijan’s success in Nagorno-Karabakh as a day of pride and victory for the entire Turkic world, President Erdoğan added: “As Turkey and Azerbaijan, our goal, from now on, is to render these lands more prosperous and developed and more pleasant to live in for our children. As long as Turkey and Azerbaijan join forces, they will continue to overcome obstacles and achieve many more victories.”