AZE.US
President Ilham Aliyev said 97,000 people are now living, studying or working in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories as reconstruction and the Great Return program continue.
Aliyev made the statement in Khankendi on Nov. 8 during an address marking Victory Day, delivered near the Victory Arch, Vesti Baku reports.
He said former internally displaced people return to their home cities and villages every month, while extensive construction is underway across areas retaken by Azerbaijan. Many settlements, he said, are being rebuilt almost entirely from the ground up.
Victory Museum Planned in Khankendi
Aliyev announced that a Victory Museum will open in Khankendi, with the final stage of work already underway.
The museum will be housed in the former local administration building. Aliyev noted that a similar museum operates near the Victory Arch in Baku and bears the names of Azerbaijani service members killed in the war.
He described the Khankendi arch as the second monument of its kind after the one in Baku. The steps leading to it record the chronology of each day of the 44-day war in 2020.
War and Security
Aliyev reviewed the events of 2020 and 2023. He said Azerbaijani forces retook more than 300 cities and villages during the 44-day war, after which Armenia signed the trilateral statement overnight on Nov. 9-10, 2020.
Referring to the one-day military operation in September 2023, Aliyev said it disabled a 15,000-strong Armenian military corps and ended with the Armenian side’s surrender. He also cited an acknowledgment by Armenia’s leadership that nearly 12,000 soldiers deserted the Armenian army during the 2020 war.
The president said people he described as war criminals had received appropriate punishment. His remark came in the context of the building that will house the new museum.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan must retain political, economic and military strength to prevent new threats. He emphasized that the country pursues an independent policy and does not depend on outside power centers.
National Unity
The president described Azerbaijani identity as the basis for unity among the country’s citizens, regardless of ethnicity or religion. He connected the state’s resilience to social solidarity and the preservation of national values.
Aliyev concluded by congratulating the public and the Armed Forces on Victory Day and honoring the memory of the service members killed in the war.