BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 14. As a result of the 30-year Armenian occupation, eight cities and hundreds of villages of Azerbaijan were destroyed, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev said, Trend reports.
He noted in a post on the social network X (Twitter) that an unprecedented reconstruction process funded by the Azerbaijani state is restoring the territories liberated from occupation.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
The occupation lasted until 2020, when the second Karabakh war erupted. Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia. A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Karabakh conflict were introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
Following the liberation of its lands, Azerbaijan from Nov. 2020 started carrying out operations on clearing its lands from mines, booby traps, and various weapons left behind by the Armenian troops.