BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 30
Trend:
Next year we will celebrate the 270th anniversary of Shusha, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said addressing the official opening ceremony of the Vagif Poetry Days in Shusha, Trend reports.
"Shusha is an Azerbaijani city," the president said. "The foundation of Shusha, as we all know, was laid by Panahali khan in 1752. Despite the [Armenian] occupation, Shusha managed to preserve the Azerbaijani spirit. Everyone who comes to Shusha can see this. Even in a ruined state, even during the occupation when it was vandalized, Shusha was able to preserve its spirit, its stature."
"It did not bend, did not break, it waited for us," President Aliyev said. "We had to come, and we did. We have come here as victorious people. We did not come through negotiations, not as a result of any concessions made by Armenia, but by shedding blood, by giving martyrs, by showing self-sacrifice on the battlefield, by restoring our territorial integrity and by restoring our national dignity."