BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 26. Our subsequent losses were preconditioned precisely by the loss of Shusha and Lachin, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the Lachin City Day festivities held on the banks of the Hakari River in Lachin, Trend reports.
"The occupation of Lachin was a great tragedy both for the people of Lachin and for the entire nation. The occupation of every village and city was a great tragedy, but the occupation of Lachin was a huge test from a strategic point of view, a great disaster. Because a geographical connection was created between Armenia and the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Province. Our subsequent losses were preconditioned precisely by the loss of Shusha and Lachin. The month of May was associated with these two tragic days in the history of independent Azerbaijan. May was a tragic month in our independent life – Shusha was occupied on May 8 and Lachin was occupied on May 18. This occupation shook us from within. This occupation marked the beginning of the occupation of other lands. Because Shusha was the first to be occupied, followed by Lachin," President Ilham Aliyev said.