Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani veterans of the 1979-89 Afghan war will take regular visits to the frontline, according to remarks made by Magomed Veliyev, the chairman of Azerbaijan’s Public Association of Veterans of the Afghan War, at a press conference on August 19.

He said the recent visit of the veterans to the frontline areas was organized at the highest level.

Veliyev noted that the initiative of visiting frontline zone had been put forward before, but due to a lack of interest from the former leadership of the defense ministry, the visits did not take place.

“We had several meetings in the frontal area, had meetings with personnel of military units, as well as with the local population. We got acquainted with the conditions on the contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani troops. I hope that such meetings will be continued,” he said.

Valiyev expressed confidence that these visits will play a crucial role in raising troop morale as well as helping psychological train troops for combat.

He said that the participants were embedded with Azerbaijani armed forces in Tovuz, Gazakh, Gadabay, Aghdam, Terter, and Goranboy regions.

The goal of the Public Association of Veterans of the Afghan War, which has more than three thousand members, is to prepare young people for military service and to assist military education.

Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian, and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

As a result of Armenia going unpunished for its crimes, it still continues the occupation in defiance of the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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