Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev raises the national flag in Xankendi on October 15
By Smartencyclopedia with Agencies
Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, made a historic visit to the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on October 15, where he raised his country’s national flag in the city known as Xankendi to Azeris and Stepanakert to the territory’s ethnic Armenians. This visit marked his first to the region during his two decades in office.
In an official statement, Aliyev’s office announced, “The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has raised the national flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the city of Xankendi and delivered a speech.” The visit symbolizes the restoration of Azerbaijani control over Nagorno Karabakh, which had been under the administration of ethnic Armenians following the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Last month, Azerbaijan launched a 24-hour offensive in the region, ending three decades of Armenian rule. This move was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, despite previous conflicts and periods of Armenian control.
Nagorno Karabakh has been a point of contention between Armenia and Azerbaijan for several decades, leading to two wars in the past 30 years. After separatist fighting in the early 1990s, the territory came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, supported by the Armenian military, in 1994. However, the 2020 conflict saw Azerbaijan regain portions of Nagorno-Karabakh, along with surrounding areas that had been claimed by Armenian forces during the earlier war.
As a result of Azerbaijan’s latest offensive, nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians, representing the majority of the territory’s ethnic Armenian population, fled to Armenia. This effectively granted Baku control over the entire region.
During his visit to Nagorno Karabakh, President Aliyev also raised the Azerbaijani flag in the cities of Agdara (Martakert) and Xocali (Ivanyan). He was seen wearing military attire during the flag-raising ceremonies and visited the Sarsang Reservoir, where he viewed the water and surrounding mountains while wearing sunglasses.
October 15 also marked the 20th anniversary of President Aliyev’s ascension to power as the President of Azerbaijan.