Azerbaijan Continues To Liberate More Villages From Armenian Occupation

Azerbaijan’s army has liberated seven more villages from Armenian occupation after a week of clashes.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev made the announcement on Saturday night.

Earlier, Aliyev announced that Azerbaijani soldiers hoisted the flag over the town of Madagiz and added that he had reinstated the town’s historical name, Sugovushan, as of Saturday.

Border clashes broke out last Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties.

Azerbaijan’s parliament declared a state of war in some of its cities and regions following Armenia’s border violations and attacks in occupied Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

On Monday, Azerbaijan declared partial military mobilisation amid the clashes.

READ MORE: Azerbaijan kills dozens of Armenian soldiers in Karabakh fighting

Turkey’s stance shows Azerbaijan not alone

Aliyev said that Turkey’s attitude and comments on attacks by Armenia showed that his country is not alone in its just cause.

Aliyev recalled that the Armenian army launched another military provocation September 27 against Azerbaijan and opened fire on settlements and military positions with various weapons, including heavy artillery.

“Your clear remarks on the issue [of Karabakh dispute] once again showed that Azerbaijan is not alone in its just cause,” Aliyev said in an open letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He also reiterated Turkey’s position toward Armenian attacks that have been strongly condemned and seen as a treacherous act since the first minutes at every level.

Mentioning that he receives many letters of support every day from Turks, Aliyev stressed that these are clear examples of Turkey-Azerbaijan brotherhood that are appreciated by the Azerbaijan people.

“On behalf of myself and the Azerbaijani people, I thank you and the brotherly Turkish people for this support,” he added.

READ MORE: Azerbaijan frees major positions as clashes rage on day six

Calls for recognition

In the interview with Qatar-owned Al Jazeera, a transcript of which was distributed on Saturday by the presidential press office, Aliyev criticised the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has tried to mediate a resolution in theNagorno-Karabakh dispute.

One reason behind the current fighting is that “the mediators do not insist or exert pressure to start implementing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” he said.

“We have no time to wait another 30 years. The conflict must be resolved now.” Aliyev said.

Russia, US and France, whose leaders co-chair OSCE, had failed to bring about a political resolution to the conflict. Instead, it had this week called for an immediate ceasefire.

Armenia said Friday it was “ready to engage” with mediators but Azerbaijan, which considers Karabakh under Armenian occupation, has said Armenian forces must fully withdraw before a ceasefire can be brokered.

Karabakh’s declaration of independence from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.

Talks to resolve the conflict have made little progress since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.

Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions, as well as many international organisations, demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.

France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region.

READ MORE: Karabakh – Azerbaijan, Armenia no closer to ending clashes after 5 days