There was a time when the Azerbaijanis and Armenians lived in friendship not only in Khankendi, but also in Karabakh, Baku, Ganja, Yerevan, Iravan, Zangezur, Daralayaz, Basarkechar. I remember those years. After Heydar Aliyev came to power in Soviet Azerbaijan, some nationalist forces that had existed in Karabakh until then completely withdrew. Exactly 18 years. From 1969 to 1982, there was not a single unpleasant incident,” said President Ilham Aliyev as he made a speech after raising the national flag of Azerbaijan in the city of Khankendi.

“I remember coming here with my father. I remember that atmosphere. Here, there was a friendly atmosphere in the true sense of the word. Work was being done together. Today, we raised the Azerbaijani flag over the Sarsang reservoir. The Sarsang reservoir and the Sugovushan reservoir were built on Heydar Aliyev’s initiative in 1976. At that time, so much investment was made in the development of agriculture in the region. A railway was built from Aghdam to Khankendi, a higher school was established here, and most of the buildings you see in Khankendi were constructed in those years,” the Azerbaijani leader pointed out.