BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 8. Azerbaijan secured complete superiority on the battlefield, and on November 8 – the day we celebrate Victory Day – the liberation of Shusha effectively decided the outcome of the Second Garabagh War, President Ilham Aliyev said in his congratulatory address to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of Victory Day.
"Naturally, factors such as years of army building, enhancing the professionalism of our Armed Forces, regularly conducting military exercises, increasing combat capabilities, and equipping our army with modern equipment and weaponry played a major role in achieving our Victory. However, the main path to Victory ran through the hearts of our people, our soldiers, and our officers. What drove us forward was the path of dignity. The Azerbaijani people never intended to come to terms with the occupation. Throughout the years of occupation, I repeatedly stated publicly at various events that Azerbaijan would never accept the occupation, despite the efforts of the countries supporting Armenia to force us to do so. They repeatedly claimed that there was no military solution to this conflict. They repeatedly orchestrated various provocations in an attempt to push us into making unacceptable concessions. The large-scale smear campaign and slander directed against Azerbaijan, along with all the provocations aimed at discrediting the Azerbaijani state, its people, and its leadership, yielded no results. I repeatedly stated that we would never accept the occupation and that, if Armenia did not voluntarily withdraw from the occupied lands, we would restore our territorial integrity by military means.
Regrettably, they did not heed my words. As a result, our people united as one fist and broke the enemy's resistance on the battlefield, thereby restoring historical justice, our dignity, and international law.
The Armenian side had become so arrogant that it constantly threatened us. It threatened us with a "new war for new territories" and attempted to insult our dignity with the words, "Garabagh is Armenia, and period." We answered them on the battlefield, and everyone clearly saw who was who. Not a single person fled or deserted from the Azerbaijani Army. However, by the Armenian leadership's own admission, there were nearly 12,000 deserters in the Armenian army. This clearly shows the difference. Azerbaijan secured complete superiority on the battlefield, and on November 8 – the day we celebrate Victory Day – the liberation of Shusha effectively decided the outcome of the Second Garabagh War. One day later, on the night of November 9–10, Armenia signed the act of capitulation," the head of state said.
