BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 30
Trend:
After the occupation of Shusha, all historical monuments and cultural sites, including the mausoleum of Vagif, were destroyed by the vandals, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said addressing the official opening ceremony of the Vagif Poetry Days in Shusha, Trend reports.
"The occupation of Shusha was a great tragedy of our people. Because Shusha is the cradle of Azerbaijani culture. Shusha has a great symbolic meaning in the history of Azerbaijan. Shusha is the crown of Karabakh."
"After the occupation of Shusha, other districts and cities were occupied as well," President Aliyev said. "Of course, the strategic importance of Shusha was lost for us, and the enemy took advantage of this and occupied Lachin a few days later – in May 1992."
"A year later, in April 1993, they occupied Kalbajar, thus establishing a geographical link between the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and Armenia," the president said. "Our defeat was inevitable, given that there was a period of chaos in Azerbaijan at that time. There was no regular army and there was a civil confrontation."