BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 19. The anti-terror measures carried out by the Azerbaijani Army on September 19, 2023, have significant historical significance in terms of protecting the national security of our country and ensuring the peaceful and secure life of citizens, political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.
According to him, this operation is considered an important strategic step in preventing terrorist threats aimed at violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
He said that the country is implementing comprehensive measures to ensure stability and security in the region, and the 2023 anti-terrorist operation, as an integral part of this strategy, represents a new stage in the country's national security policy.
"The threats posed by terrorism, especially during the occupation and the subsequent stage, have created serious obstacles to the security of Azerbaijan. With this operation, the Azerbaijani Army, law enforcement agencies, and special services have put an end to the activities of terrorist groups and illegal armed formations and have effectively neutralized the risks they pose within the country and at its borders," the analyst explained.
Garayev noted that, contrary to the Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020, Armenia had more than 10,000 Armenian armed forces units and illegal Armenian armed groups in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
"However, according to the trilateral statement, the Armenian militants in Karabakh should have been disarmed three years before. Although Azerbaijan was the party under occupation, it did everything it could within three years to defuse the tension in Karabakh, ensure the normal continuation of the reintegration process that would ensure the coexistence of Azerbaijanis and Armenians, and resolve the issue through bilateral negotiations.
Unfortunately, in exchange for Azerbaijan's humane calls, the Armenian armed forces were busy increasing their numbers, purchasing new weapons, and committing provocations. The situation had reached the point where the separatists in Karabakh did not give up their claims to independence, elected their own puppet 'presidents,' and made statements against the Azerbaijani state on behalf of their so-called 'parliaments,'" he reminded.
The analyst also said that immediately after the Second Karabakh War, our country expressed its legitimate concern and repeatedly appealed to the Armenian leadership, their sponsors abroad, and other parties, saying that the presence of Armenian armed forces on the territory of Azerbaijan was illegal and must be stopped.
"Although Azerbaijan repeatedly called on Armenia for lasting peace after the war, the Armenian side refused to negotiate each time and, not content with this, continued its armed provocations in our sovereign territories. In 2021, working groups were established in Azerbaijan and Armenia on border delimitation. The negotiations were accompanied by crisis and occasional armed clashes in the region.
In November 2021, the first armed clashes took place on the border. The bloodiest clash after the war took place on the border in September 2022. In March 2023, units of the Armenian armed forces located in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and illegal Armenian armed groups committed provocations in the Shusha direction, and in April and May, positions of the Azerbaijani Army in the direction of the conditional state border were fired upon," he mentioned.
Garayev pointed out that as a result of the short-term local anti-terrorist operation conducted, most of the Armenian weapons and equipment were disabled.
"A number of Azerbaijani civil society representatives and environmental activists held a protest action on the Shusha-Lachin road against the illegal activities of the separatists in Karabakh. The illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the Azerbaijani territories where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, the failure to comply with environmental standards, and the transportation of natural resources to Armenia have caused justified dissatisfaction among the Azerbaijani public," the analyst clarified.
In order to prevent the transportation of manpower, weapons, ammunition, and mines, as well as other military equipment from Armenia to illegal Armenian armed groups located on the territory of Azerbaijan, and in response to the unilateral establishment of a checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road on the border with Azerbaijan by Armenia on April 22, on April 23, 2023, the 'Lachin' checkpoint was established by units of the Azerbaijan State Border Service in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road.
Garayev recalled that on September 19, 2023, the Armenian armed forces in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan committed a number of large-scale military provocations and terrorist attacks.
"In order to prevent all these provocations, ensure the implementation of the provisions of the trilateral statement, and restore the constitutional structure of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a local anti-terrorist operation was launched in the region. In just 23 hours and 43 minutes, the Armenian separatists were forced to raise the white flag. The front-line and deep positions and long-range firing points of the Armenian armed forces, as well as combat vehicles and military facilities, were destroyed with the use of high-precision weapons.
Taking into account the appeal of representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent, an agreement was reached on a complete ceasefire, and on September 20, 2023, at 13:00 (GMT +4), the local anti-terrorist operation was suspended under the following conditions," he said.
Garayev noted that representatives of the Armenian community living in Karabakh, who had repeatedly refused to meet with Azerbaijani representatives, were forced to meet in Azerbaijan's Yevlakh city after a one-day anti-terrorist operation.
"The meeting discussed the issues of the abolition of the separatist regime and the reintegration of Armenian residents living in Karabakh. At the same time, the Armenian population of Karabakh was given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the reintegration conditions proposed by Azerbaijan and to make an independent decision on whether to stay in the region or not. On September 28, the head of the separatist regime of Karabakh, Samvel Shahramanyan, signed a document on the abolition of the so-called regime.
Thus, as a result of the anti-terrorist operation carried out in less than 24 hours, the Armenian army illegally located on the territory of Azerbaijan was completely disarmed and left the country. The illegal junta regime in Karabakh was abolished, the main leaders of the separatists were arrested, and Azerbaijan fully ensured its state sovereignty. The history of Azerbaijan's victory ended with the raising of our tricolor flag in Khankendi, Khojaly, Aghdara, Khojavand, Asgaran, and the full restoration of our territorial integrity. President of Azerbaijan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev raised the National Flag of Azerbaijan in Khankendi, Khojaly, Khojavand, and Aghdara cities on October 15, 2023," Garayev concluded.
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