(previously in XQ issues dated March 1, 3, 2024)

Wartime information security, wartime diplomacy

President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev also undertook the information provision of the war. During the course of the war, he gave interviews to 30 influential media representatives of the world. Without exception, he clarified every issue, including their sometimes provocative questions. The reasons for the start of the war, the participation of Turkey, and the subsequent steps were explained in detail.

During the war, the head of state Ilham Aliyev had 17 phone calls with the leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and other countries and explained the rightful position of Azerbaijan. The role of Turkey, which provided the first moral support to Azerbaijan, was very important. Friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, which acquired a new content during the war, and brotherly relations between the heads of state, Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, became the foundation of the Shusha Declaration signed in June 2021.

As a result of the active diplomatic efforts of the President, the formation of a system of states that supported Azerbaijan during the war was achieved. On September 30, 2020, during a meeting with wounded servicemen at the hospital, he said: "Azerbaijan is not alone. Turkey is next to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan is always next to Turkey! I have already said, I want to say again, that these bloody battles are the moment of truth for us, for the entire Azerbaijani people. We see who is who. We see that in some cases, some parties who say good words and make good statements do not stand behind their words. One thing is said in words, another is done in deed. But Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan unequivocally supported Azerbaijan."

The main innovation of the wartime diplomacy of the head of the country, Ilham Aliyev, was that it acquired not just diplomacy, but a military-diplomatic character. This was indicated by the fact that the President put forward his conceptual vision of ending the war as the winning side. In his address to the people on October 4, 2020, he suggested that Armenia withdraw from the territory of Azerbaijan, recognize its territorial integrity, and give a schedule for the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied lands.

The military-political genius of the President brought Armenia, which refused to accept these conditions on time, to the point of capitulation and forced it to surrender. The president noted that "the enemy who challenged us for thirty years, played with our nerves, insulted our people, made a fictional hero out of himself, knelt before us, raised a white flag, surrendered and signed the act of capitulation."

The first capitulation of Armenia

On November 10, 2020, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the President of the Russian Federation signed a joint statement. The statement consisted of 9 articles. According to the first article, a ceasefire was declared and military operations were stopped.

The second article provided for the return of Aghdam region to Azerbaijan on November 20. The third and fourth article regulated the placement of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation along the contact line and the Lachin corridor along the mountainous part of Karabakh and their stay. According to the fifth article, a peace-keeping center had to be established. The sixth article provided for the return of Kalbajar (November 15) and Lachin (December 1) regions and the regime related to the Lachin corridor. The seventh article was about internally displaced persons and refugees, and the eighth article was about prisoners of war and hostages. The last, ninth article was related to the guarantee of transport safety between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan (later named the Zangezur corridor).

With the November 10 Statement, Armenia was forced to capitulate to Azerbaijan. Since there is another capitulation of Armenia in the local anti-terrorist operation on September 19-20, 2023, the November 10 Statement was the first capitulation.

Military strategy and tactics of Azerbaijan

The activities of President Ilham Aliyev as the Commander-in-Chief, his Victory strategy and tactics have been highly appreciated both within the country and internationally. Due to the persistent victory achieved in the war, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev won the title of "Victorious Commander-in-Chief" among the people. Ilham Aliyev is among the rare leaders in world military history who directly led the armed forces of his country and led them to victory. His activity in this direction has had a serious impact on the world military art, going beyond the borders of Azerbaijan.

The military experience of Azerbaijan was summarized in the shortest possible time and started to be taught in higher military schools. During his visit to Gubadli on December 23, 2020, the head of state drew attention to this issue and said: "The work we did during the war is studied today in the military schools of leading countries. I have accurate information about this. Our foreign partners have informed us that Azerbaijan's combat tactics and our operations are studied in the military schools of the most developed countries, and this is a modern combat tactic. No one in the world has used this tactic before us."

The historical significance of the Patriotic War

With Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Karabakh War, its territories occupied by Armenia for 30 years were liberated. Together with this victory, Azerbaijan proved to the world that it has written a new page in the history of wars. President Ilham Aliyev expressed it as follows: "We behaved with dignity even during the war and observed all the rules of war. That is why the losses among civilians on the Armenian side are extremely low."

The victory in the second Karabakh war included the state of Azerbaijan and its people among the winners. President Ilham Aliyev said: "For us, for our people, the liberation of our lands from occupation is a nationwide issue, and we have never come to terms with this situation and we have openly declared it. The Second Karabakh War once again showed the determination and will of the Azerbaijani people, showed it to the whole world, and this glorious Victory will remain forever in history. After that, the state of Azerbaijan will develop as a victorious state. The people of Azerbaijan will live as a victorious nation, they will live with a sense of pride."

Considering the great importance of the historical victory and its being an example for all generations, President Ilham Aliyev paid special attention to its perpetuation. On November 26, 2020, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the establishment of the title "Hero of the Patriotic War" was issued, and on December 1, the Regulation was adopted. The statute of "Zafar" and "Karabagh" orders was also approved. In addition, on December 1, 2020, regulations on a number of medals were approved, and on December 2, a Presidential Decree was issued on the establishment of "Memorial Day". On December 3, 2020, Presidential decrees were issued on the establishment of "Victory Day", "Commemoration of the martyrs of the Patriotic War", "Establishment of the Patriotic War Memorial Complex and the Victory Museum in Baku".

One of the biggest events in this field is the creation of the Park of Military Spoils on April 12, 2021.

The policy of perpetuating the historical victory was continued, and on July 31, 2023, city days were established for the territories liberated from occupation. According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, August 26 Lachin (the city of Lachin, Zabukh and Sus villages came under the control of Azerbaijan), October 4 Jabrayil, October 17 Fuzuli, October 20 Zangilan, October 25 Gubadli, November 20 Aghdam and November 25 Kalbajar were declared .

IV. From Victory to Victory Parade

Implementation of the November 10 Statement

After the November 10 Declaration was signed, it began to be implemented. First, a ceasefire was declared and hostilities stopped. As mentioned above, according to the schedule defined in the statement, Aghdam was to be released on November 20 under the second article, Kalbajar on November 15 under the sixth article, and Lachin on December 1. Taking into account that Armenia will not be able to release Kalbajar within the specified time, Russia requested to extend the time until November 25. Therefore, Agdam was the first territory freed from occupation under the tripartite declaration. Kalbajar was liberated on November 25 and Lachin on December 1 by the occupying forces of Armenia. Armenia, which almost destroyed Aghdam, during the liberation of Kalbajar and Lachin, caused great damage to the houses in these areas, and ecological terrorism was carried out.

The third article, which provides for the implementation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, was implemented in a short time. The establishment of a center with the participation of Russia and Turkey was also organized according to the agreement of the parties to monitor the ceasefire. According to the eighth article, some work was carried out, especially on the exchange of prisoners and corpses.

Armenia has caused such destruction in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan that the implementation of the seventh article dedicated to the return of internally displaced persons and refugees could only begin after major restoration and construction works.

According to the ninth article, which is one of the most important articles of the declaration, the opening of the Zangezur Corridor was strongly opposed by Armenia, and its implementation was resisted using various excuses.

Victory celebration

On the occasion of Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Karabakh War and Armenia's capitulation, a Victory Parade was held on December 10, 2020 under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. The President of the Republic of Turkey R.T. Erdogan also participated in the Victory Parade. The presidents specially noted the importance of the historical victory and the role of Azerbaijan-Turkey cooperation in this victory.

V. Continuation of victory - local anti-terrorist operation

Armenian vandalism

After the end of the war, the extent of the devastation caused by Armenia in the territories freed from occupation was clearly evident. Armenian vandals almost completely destroyed the occupied territories. The city of Aghdam was called the Hiroshima of Azerbaijan due to the extent of the destruction.

During his visit to Fuzuli on November 17, 2020, the President said: "As you know, the enemy has destroyed all the infrastructure in the occupied and liberated lands. Our cities have been almost completely destroyed, and this once again shows the brutality of the enemy. Now the whole world will see it. The whole world will see what a brutal enemy we were up against.

Armenia's mine terrorism

One of the biggest problems was mine terrorism in the territories occupied by Armenia. At that time, these areas were the most contaminated with mines in the world. Despite all the demands of Azerbaijan, Armenia continued its war crimes and refused to provide a map of mined areas.

As a result of this, peaceful Azerbaijanis continued to fall into mines and were killed. On June 4, 2021, employees of AZERTAC and AzTv were killed by an anti-tank mine in the village of Susuz of Kalbajar district while performing their duties. In general, from November 10, 2020 to the beginning of November 2023, 336 people fell into mines, 65 of them died.

Azerbaijan-Armenia peace talks

After the 44-day war, peace negotiations were also held between Azerbaijan and Armenia. There was an intense struggle between Brussels and Moscow for mediation in the peace talks. So, among the events, there are three meetings organized by Moscow (2021, June 11, Moscow; 2021, May 26, Sochi; 2023, May 25, Moscow), six meetings with the participation of Brussels (2021, December 14; 2022, April 6; 2022 , May 22; 2022, August 31; 2023, May 13; 2023, July 15). Washington has also shown the first initiatives in this direction (2023, May 1). Despite this, it was not possible to agree on a peace treaty.

At the same time, Armenia continued its military provocations against Azerbaijan while participating in the peace talks. The Azerbaijani army managed to resolutely prevent all these provocations. On March 9, 2022, the strategically important Farrukh Height was captured, and on August 3, the Revenge operation was successfully completed. Armenia did not give up revenge, it committed new provocations in September 2022 and in April and May 2023, and this time the Azerbaijani army dealt a crushing blow to the enemy.

Along with military provocations, ecological provocations were also continued. Deposits in the Khankendi region of Azerbaijan were brutally exploited and transported to Armenia. In order to prevent this environmental provocation, a long-term action was held on the Lachin-Shusha road from December 2022 to April 28, 2023 by Azerbaijan's ecoactivists.

Political provocations were continued by the Armenians in the territories under their control, especially in Khankendi. Billionaire Ruben Vardanyan, who is considered a project of Russia, renounced his citizenship and came to Khankendi in September 2022 in order to create a new movement in the mountainous part of Karabakh. Taking the post of "state minister" in the puppet government of Armenians, he started to work against Azerbaijani statehood.

Lachin Corridor Control

The main source of the presence of Armenian separatists was the Lachin corridor, which ensured the delivery of weapons and newly manufactured mines from Armenia. Azerbaijan prepared a new route of the Lachin Corridor in order to liberate the city of Lachin faster. On August 26, 2022, despite the liberation of Zabukh and the city of Lachin, Armenians continued to abuse the Lachin corridor, which was under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Taking this into account, Azerbaijan created an exit checkpoint on the Lachin-Khankendi road in accordance with its sovereign rights. This was one of the important steps taken for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Armenia and pro-Armenian forces started to put forward a myth about the blockade of Armenians. With the opening of this station, the mission of eco-activists was fulfilled.

Azerbaijan stated that the connections between the mountainous part of Karabakh and Khankendi will be implemented through the Aghdam-Khankendi road. With the direct participation of foreign forces, especially France, a new provocation was attempted against Azerbaijan. Armenia sent trucks loaded with food to the border of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan declared that the Lachin corridor will be possible only with the opening of the Aghdam-Khankendi road. Provision of Armenians with food, etc. proposed a meeting with the participation of their representatives to resolve the issues.

In return, Armenian separatists organized a "presidential election" on September 9, 2023. This measure, which served to violate the sovereign rights of Azerbaijan, was strongly condemned. A number of countries, including the European Union, refused to recognize the results of the "election".

Azerbaijan had to take decisive measures to prevent the activities of Armenian separatist forces on its territory.

(to be continued)

Karim Shukurov,
General director of ANAS Institute of History, professor