Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

Read more

November 8 is considered a special day in the history of Azerbaijan because Shusha - the Pearl of Azerbaijan was liberated on this day. The city was invaded by Armenians on May 9, 1992, and was kept under occupation over 28 years.

However, Azerbaijan did not tolerate the cradle of culture being exploited under the occupation of aliens. At last, the dreams of Azerbaijanis came true and the city was liberated by the glorious Azerbaijani army in 2020.

Being established by Panahali Khan in the 18th century, the city played an important role not only in Azerbaijani history but also in entire the region. That is why, the saying goes that the one holding Shusha can control the whole Garabagh, and the one who controls Garabagh controls whole the South Caucasus. Speaking to Azernews on the occasion of Azerbaijan's Victory Day, the retired Turkish General Yücel Karauz first talked about the strategic importance of Shusha. It is not accidental that the Shusha operation was quite particular and completely different from the other ones.

According to the former general, Shusha is also a place where all communication routes of Garabagh cross through. He stressed that it is a piece of land that dominates due to its geographical height and position. The sides and fortifications holding the city gains a physical advantage in the region.

“If you have Shusha in your hands, you can immediately organize a military operation in any part of Garabagh, and you can immediately gain advantages. You can provide this effect by means of fire support, and you can provide it with maneuver elements, in a nutshell, you can provide this advantage in any condition" the military specialist said.

He added that Shusha, due to the abovementioned advantages, also provides superiority in terms of moral and psychological value. "We witnessed that the liberation of Shusha broke the will of Armenia to fight. Why did it break? It broke because of all that I said. Therefore, being a physically, politically, historically, and culturally important city, located at the junction of transportation routes, being able to influence the entire region, i.e. Garabagh due to the fact that it is a dominant land, Shusha is a political and military goal,” the Turkish general noted.

​Yücel Karauz pointed out Armenians' surrendering straight after the liberation of Shusha raising a white flag. As a result, 3 districts were liberated without firing a single bullet, and injury of a single Azerbaijani soldier.

Speaking about the latest military operations in Garabagh, the expert stressed that the Armenian side did not follow the provisions of the November 10 Statement.

"The Armenian side did not contribute to peace and stability but continued to commit terrorist acts for 3 years. Azerbaijan had to respond to these terror activities as Armenia did not comply with Azerbaijan's proposal of peace treaty and reintegration. Having won on the battlefield and on the roundtables, Azerbaijan managed to liberate all its lands within less than 24 hours of anti-terrorist operation," Yücel Karauz added.

The former general also highly evaluated Azerbaijan's ability to modernize its army and arsenal. “In the meantime, Azerbaijan has modernized its army during these three years with a dynamic state model that keeps pace with the emerging geopolitical and geostrategic changes. It created commando units, made changes in the organization, education, and as a result of a state structure in accordance with the needs of the time, Azerbaijan has now become a regional power of the Caucasus,” he said.

Yücel Karauz pointed out that the Azerbaijani army became the strongest army in the Caucasus. In addition, apart from these activities, restoration and reconstruction works are in full swing in the liberated areas. He stressed that related to the Great Return, roads are being built, modern buildings are being erected, and social living spaces are being created for the citizens in every district in liberated territories.

“Therefore, there is no such state in the world that can wage war, fight in diplomacy at the table, and rebuild the liberated areas. We call this the Azerbaijani miracle. We express our gratitude to the Azerbaijan President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, all our martyrs and veterans, the public diplomacy of the Azerbaijani state, the Azerbaijani people, and the virtuous Azerbaijani army, who made this miracle happen. May our victory be eternal and blessed. This is not only a victory for Azerbaijan, but also for the entire Turkic world and Turkiye."

---

Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

​