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Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev presided over a military parade in the main city of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, a significant event following the recent lightning offensive that saw his army recapture the long-disputed region from Armenian separatists. The parade showcased Azerbaijani troops and a military orchestra in formation in the central square of Khankendi, known as Stepanakert to Armenians.
Images released by the president's office depicted Azerbaijani flags adorning the building that formerly housed the offices of Karabakh's separatist leader, symbolizing the territorial shift. The imposing Soviet-era edifice now bears the Azerbaijani emblem.
The ceremony, attended by First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and Aliyev's son Heydar, coincided with the third anniversary of Azerbaijan's decisive victory in a six-week war with Armenia. This conflict resulted in Baku reclaiming significant portions of its lands that had been under Armenian control for three decades.
In September, Azerbaijan initiated an offensive to retake the remaining parts of the region, leading to a swift capitulation by ethnic-Armenian separatist authorities. The subsequent mass exodus of over 100,000 Armenians from the region exacerbated a refugee crisis in Armenia.
Despite international efforts to broker a comprehensive peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, talks have thus far failed to yield a breakthrough. The military parade and ongoing regional tensions underscore the complex and unresolved nature of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
