Day: May 29, 2023

On May 29, members of an illegal Armenian armed detachment in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, under the guise of agricultural work, attempted to install long-term fortification devices in front of the Azerbaijan Army's positions stationed in the directions of the Aghdam, Khojavend, Shusha, Lachin and Kalbajar regions, Defense Ministry told AZERTAC. The engineering work was immediately stopped as a result of the urgent measures taken by the Azerbaijan Army Units.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

The Independence Day is celebrated in Azerbaijan on May 28. On this day 105 years ago in 1918 the Azerbaijan People's Republic (APR) was proclaimed - the first republic in the Muslim world. The independence of Azerbaijan and other countries of the Caucasus became possible in the conditions of the end of the First World War and the collapse of the Russian Empire. However, the legacy of the empire in Transcaucasia created serious contradictions between the peoples of the region, not allowing them to unite within the framework of the Transcaucasia Republic, which they also announced. Azerbaijan declared its independence after the disintegration of the Transcaucasia Democratic Federative Republic on May 26, 1918, as a result of disagreements with the Georgian and Armenian factions in the Transcaucasia Seim (Parliament). After the Georgians, leaving the Federation, announced the independence of Georgia on May 26, the members of the Muslim faction of the Transcaucasia Seim proclaimed the independence of Azerbaijan on May 27. At the same meeting, the Presidium and the Chairman of the National Council of Azerbaijan, Mammad Emin Rasulzadeh, was elected. On May 28, 1918, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, which proclaimed the establishment of a democratic parliamentary republic in Azerbaijan. The Declaration noted that the peoples of Azerbaijan are carriers of sovereign rights, and Azerbaijan is declared a full-fledged independent state. Within 18 days the National Council of Azerbaijan acted in Tbilisi, and then moved to Ganja. Baku was then under the control of the Baku Commune headed by Stepan Shaumyan. The APR government moved to Baku only in September 1918 after the capital was liberated by the Caucasian Turkish Islamic Army from the Socialist-Menshevik government of the Central Caspian Dictatorship regime that had replaced the Bolsheviks. The rights and freedoms of all citizens, regardless of national or religious affiliation, were ensured in the APR. For the first time in the Muslim world, women's suffrage was recognized. The APR was recognized at the Versailles Peace Conference. Over 23 months of its existence, the APR adopted a number of laws, conducted political, military, legal and economic reforms, and the first university in Azerbaijan was established. The first Azerbaijan People"s Republic fell on April 28, 1920 as a result of the invasion of the Red Army. Azerbaijan became part of the USSR as a subject of the union state. Azerbaijan regained its independence after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, declaring itself the successor of the APR.

Source: Turan News Agency

President Ilham Aliyev demanded that the Karabakh Armenians disband the separatist structures and obey the laws of Azerbaijan. If this demand be met, the officials of the illegal entities can count on amnesty. These messages were delivered by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on 28 May in Lachin, speaking to the first group of residents of that city who had returned to their homes. Armenians residing in the Karabakh region should learn lessons from the establishment of the Lachin border crossing on 23 April, which enabled the Azerbaijani side to fully control the traffic from Armenia to and from the Karabakh region. "Unfortunately, even today they (Karabakh Armenians) are still hoping for someone to come and save them, to wage war against Azerbaijan. All this is nonsense. In the second Karabakh war we demonstrated strong will where no one dared to interfere from the outside, now, after we are again the masters of our lands, no one will come and fight with us instead of Armenians," Aliyev said. He emphasized that the idea of "miatsum" has collapsed. "The illusion of independence followed the status we sent to the right place during the second Karabakh war," Aliyev said. According to Aliyev, Karabakh Armenians are faced with the only way out: "It is to obey the laws of Azerbaijan, become normal, loyal citizens of the country, throw their fake 'state' attributes in the dustbin and dissolve the 'parliament'," Aliyev continued. He also mentioned terms for the exoneration of Karabakh separatist officials. "Everyone knows that we have every opportunity to conduct any operation in this region (Karabakh). Thus, the (separatist) 'parliament' must be dissolved, the so-called 'president' element must surrender, all 'ministers', 'deputies' and others must leave their positions. Only in this case, they may be granted a pardon, it will be possible to talk about an amnesty," Aliyev stressed. Touching upon the signing of a peace treaty with Armenia, Aliyev noted that after Yerevan has recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, "there are in fact no serious obstacles left for the signing of the agreement". Head of state voiced his confidence that "the peace agreement may be signed in the near future, if Armenia does not cheat and change its position once again". "If it is signed, it is very good, if it is not signed it will cause no problems for Azerbaijan, because we are the strong side, we have a strong position at the negotiations table, we have a strong position on the border. Even without signing a peace treaty, we will live peacefully and safely", stressed the President of Azerbaijan. Aliyev also referred to the opening of the road to Nakhchivan and the withdrawal of Armenian army units from Karabakh as conditions for a peaceful settlement. "The delimitation of borders must take place on our terms, that is, on fair terms. The peace agreement must be based on international conditions, the road to Nakhchivan must be opened, and representatives of the Armenian army, who are still entrenched in Karabakh, must be withdrawn from there. These are our conditions," Aliyev said.

Source: Turan News Agency

On the evening of May 28, the positions of the Azerbaijani army located in the direction of the Aghdam district were fired upon by members of an illegal Armenian armed formation on the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, Trend reports.

"The Azerbaijani units stationed in this direction have taken adequate response measures," the ministry said in a statement.

Source: TREND News Agency