BAKU: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev underlined that his country’s flag will forever fly in Lachin while on a visit to the city that returned to Azerbaijani control in late August.
“Armenians settled illegally in some parts of Lachin. They brought people of Armenian origin from Syria and Lebanon and settled here illegally. This is a war crime, defined as a war crime in all international conventions, and this crime was committed in front of the world’s public opinion. The Azerbaijani flag will fly forever in Lachin,” said Aliyev.
“When another provocation was made against us on Sept. 13, the Azerbaijani army responded and repulsed the enemy. I hope this will eventually be a lesson because they saw that no one and nothing could stop us. No phone calls, no explanations, no attempts can stop us,” the president said.
While visiting the region that lies on the road connecting Khankendi to Armenia, Aliyev raised the Azerbaijani flag in Lachin city center, according to a statement from his office.
In his speech here, Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan temporarily lost control of Lachin per the tripartite declaration signed between Baku, Yerevan and Moscow after the Second Karabakh War.
Aliyev stated that the city of Lachin was destroyed by the Armenians during the occupation period and highlighted that many settled there illegally, in what he called a clear war crime. –Agencies
