BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 11. During the occupation, Armenia destroyed 65 out of 67 mosques, while the remaining two mosques were seriously damaged and used to keep pigs and cows, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said addressing the 9th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Samarkand, Trend reports.
"This week, the Azerbaijani people proudly celebrated the second anniversary of the liberation of Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur from Armenian occupation. Two years ago, we put an end to the 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani lands, restored historical justice and international law. By doing that, Azerbaijan also itself implemented the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.
Although the 30-year occupation is over, its severe consequences are still there. Nine cities and hundreds of villages of Azerbaijan were wiped off the face of the earth by Armenia. Aghdam, once a large and prosperous city, has been destroyed to an extent that foreign experts call it the Hiroshima of the Caucasus. During the occupation, Armenia destroyed 65 out of 67 mosques, while the remaining two mosques were seriously damaged and used to keep pigs and cows. This is an insult to the entire Muslim world. Islamophobia and Turkophobia form the basis of Armenia’s official ideology.
During the occupation, Armenia planted more than a million landmines in our territories. In the two years since the end of the Patriotic War, about 270 Azerbaijani citizens have been killed or seriously injured in mine explosions.
Azerbaijan is carrying out large-scale reconstruction work in the territories liberated from occupation. We have started the implementation of the “Great Return” program to return former internally displaced persons to their native lands.
Turkish companies are actively involved in many infrastructure projects in this process as contractors. My dear brother, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the liberated territories three times and has been to Shusha, Fuzuli, Zangilan and Jabrayil.
I am also inviting the heads of other Turkic states to Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur. Using this opportunity, I express my gratitude to the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for the school to be built by Uzbekistan and the creativity centre to be built by Kazakhstan in the liberated Fuzuli district. These are the manifestations of brotherhood between Azerbaijani-Uzbek and Azerbaijani-Kazakh peoples," the head of state said.