On September 16, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan viewed the bullet-riddled monuments of prominent Azerbaijani figures Natavan, Bulbul, and Uzeyir Hajibeyli in Shusha, which had been damaged by Armenian occupiers.
The UAE President was informed that during the occupation, Armenians had intended to take these statues to Armenia and melt them down. Thanks to the intervention of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the statues were retrieved from Armenia and returned to Azerbaijan. After being temporarily kept in the courtyard of the Museum of Art in Baku, the statues were restored to their original locations in Shusha following its liberation.