Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani army’s spectacular victory over Armenia during the 44-day-war forced the chauvinistic regime in Armenia into unconditional capitulation, U.S. expert Peter M. Tase said in an interview with Day.az.

Azerbaijan won a victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between September 27 and November 10 and liberated its lands after three 30 years of the Armenian occupation.

Tase stressed President and Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev’s role in the victory, saying that he showed great leadership by fully securing his country’s territorial sovereignty while exercising respect for humanitarian laws and human rights.

The expert said Azerbaijan combines strong foreign policy, economic diplomacy and strong army that enabled the country to regain its territories in the military operations after 30 years of Armenian aggression.

Tase said that Ilham Aliyev has outstanding negotiations skills and Azerbaijan’s geopolitical importance has transcended the South Caucasus region. Ilham Aliyev is the main architect of Azerbaijan’s economic development and shapes the economic progress in the Southern Caucasus region, the expert continued.

Tase noted that as the Supreme Commander-in-chief of Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev secured the full territorial sovereignty of his country with diplomacy and military operation, which garnered him more popularity among his own countrymen and abroad.

Azerbaijan liberated around 300 settlements and villages, including historic Shusha city and Hadrut settlement from the Armenian occupation during the 44-day-war. After the signing of Russian-brokered peace deal on November 10, Azerbaijan also regained control over Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions in line with the term of the agreement. Azerbaijan announced November 9 as the Victory Day to celebrate restoration of the country's territorial integrity.