Twenty years ago, when I started to fulfill my duties as President, I set myself a top priority task of raising the Azerbaijani flag in all our territories, all our lands, cities and villages that were occupied at the time. Every day, every hour we moved towards this sacred goal. Every day, we were bringing this cherished moment closer and repeatedly saying that each of us should try to bring this day closer with our hard work,” said President Ilham Aliyev as he made a speech after raising the national flag of Azerbaijan in the city of Khankendi.

“Over these years, Azerbaijan has become stronger. Azerbaijan has been able to take its rightful place on the global scale. Azerbaijan is now being reckoned with in the world. The position of our country, the steps of our state carry a great meaning not only for the region, but also for a broader geography. In many cases, Azerbaijan has been the author of important initiatives. Over the years, we have created a strong political and legal foundation for resolving the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. At the same time, we have created a strong economy, and the successes achieved in this direction over the past 20 years are obvious,” said the head of state.