President Ilham Aliyev recently attended several inaugurations of infrastructure facilities in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, including Fuzuli and Lachin districts, as well as the city of Shusha.
In Shusha, President Aliyev laid the foundation stones for the third residential complex and the settlement of Turshsu. He also welcomed relocated locals to the first residential complex, built from scratch as part of the reconstruction projects. Additionally, President Aliyev attended the inaugurations of the restored Mamayi Mosque and the historical Shirinsu Bathhouse. He also toured the reconstruction sites of the Ashaghi Govhar Agha and Chol Gala mosques, as well as the house-museum of prominent Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayli in Shusha.
“A new history of Shusha begins today. I said in my address to the nation on November 8, 2020, that we would revive Shusha. Today we witness a reviving Shusha,” President Aliyev stated during a meeting with locals in Shusha on May 10.
He further explained that the revival of Shusha is progressing rapidly, with everything being constructed based on a precise plan, adhering to the most advanced urban planning principles applied by the world’s top companies.
“The regions of Karabakh and East Zangezur will become one of the most beautiful places not only in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, but also of the whole world – the most modern, comfortable and beautiful,” the Azerbaijani president added.
President Aliyev also attended the 7th International Kharibulbul Music Festival and the ceremony designating Shusha as the 2024 cultural capital of the Islamic world. He highlighted the festival’s dedication to this recognition.
The first edition of the Kharibulbul Music Festival took place in Shusha in May 1989 to honor famous Shusha-born Azerbaijani singer Seyid Shushinski. The fourth edition of the festival was supposed to start on May 15, 1992, with about 500 people from more than 30 countries among participants. However, it was interrupted as Armenian armed forces captured Shusha on May 8, 1992, as part of the bloody war initiated by Armenia following the Soviet Union’s dissolution.
Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh (Garabagh) region came after both countries gained independence in 1991. Armenia launched a military campaign against Azerbaijan, which lasted until a ceasefire deal was reached in 1994. As a result, Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories, leading to the deaths of over 30,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis and the expulsion of one million more from those lands in a brutal ethnic cleansing policy.
The Azerbaijani army restored Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Shusha on November 8, during the 44-day-long counter-offensive operations from September 27 through November 9, 2020. Azerbaijani forces liberated more than 300 settlements, including the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, from nearly 30 years of illegal Armenian occupation. The liberation of Shusha played a crucial role in the retreat of Armenia’s forces and the cessation of hostilities on November 10, 2020. Additionally, Armenia returned the occupied Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan as part of its obligations under the tripartite statement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.
Shortly after the liberation of the territories, the government of Azerbaijan pressed ahead with plans to restore and reconstruct the districts and cities in the Karabakh region, including Shusha.
Inauguration of infrastructure in Fuzuli and Lachin
President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated several key infrastructure projects during his visit to the liberated lands, specifically in the Fuzuli and Lachin districts. In Fuzuli, he opened the restored Kondalanchay water reservoirs complex and then proceeded to inaugurate the first tunnel on the Fuzuli-Ahmadbayli-Shusha highway, a first-class road connecting the southern and central parts of the Karabakh region.
In Lachin, President Aliyev inaugurated the Zabukh and Garagishlag small hydropower plants, which have now been integrated into the power grid of the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions, where renewable energy sources now contribute 100% of power generation.
While on his trip to Lachin, he also met with locals from the reconstructed Sus village. This village is expected to soon welcome 144 individuals from 39 more families. Presently, 75 people in 20 families reside in Sus.
Additionally, President Aliyev inspected the Khankendi-Shusha-Lachin highway, another first-class road aimed at facilitating overland connections across the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions.