BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 17. President Ilham Aliyev once again paid respect to the martyrs at the meeting with residents who moved to the city of Fuzuli and members of the general public of the district on the “Fuzuli City Day”.
One of the touching moments of the meeting was the words of President Ilham Aliyev about the martyrs who gave their lives for the sake of Victory.
"Today, while celebrating this holiday, of course, we all once again express our deep respect for the memory of our dear martyrs. Two days ago, when I addressed the people from the central square of Khankendi, I said that we were indebted to them for this day. And it is true. No matter how much power and how many weapons the state has and how carefully military operations are planned, it is the soldiers and officers who achieve Victory. They go, put their chest forward, face death, and then they raise the Flag. Their heroism must and will never be erased from our memory. Today, their souls are happy because we are here, you are here, and no matter how bitter it is, there is a consolation for their loved ones and relatives. The fact is that they sacrificed their lives and won the historic Victory. We had about 15,000 martyrs in the First Karabakh War, but the lands were also lost. Of course, every life is irreplaceable. However, the operations of the Second Karabakh War were planned so that we could minimize our losses, and we achieved that.
I want to say again that we should always be indebted to them. The younger generation should always be educated in this spirit. Their heroism is unforgettable. Winning this historic Victory in such a difficult geographical terrain is truly unmatched. The enemy had taken all the heights. If you go in any direction from here, you will see that almost every hill had their post, battle station, several lines of defense, barbed wire and mines. It took our soldiers a great deal of courage to break through and advance under fire. This is something that probably never happened in the world’s military history. If it did, let them tell us where. It didn't happen before, the people of Azerbaijan did that. During the occupation, we raised such a young generation that they were ready to die for the Motherland, and they were facing death," President Ilham Aliyev said.