There are many remarkable dates and events in our history of gaining borders. We can recall how on August 18, 1919 the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established its own border guard service. After regaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan, among other things, had to make a lot of efforts to establish control over its own borders: Moscow was insisting that Russian “green berets” should stay on the former external borders of the USSR, the status and division of the Caspian Sea had not yet been determined… Most importantly, as a result of Armenian aggression, 20 percent of our country’s territory was under occupation, including hundreds of kilometers of borders with Iran and Armenia itself.
However, in recent years, Azerbaijan has won several glorious victories. During the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan under the leadership of its Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, liberated the previously occupied section of its border with Iran from Armenian aggressors: a total of 132 kilometers. On October 21, 2020, the liberation of the village and border outpost Agbend marked Azerbaijan’s restoration of full control over its border with Iran.
A year ago, on April 23, Azerbaijan completely “closed” its state border and established full control over it. An Azerbaijani border checkpoint was set up on the Gorus-Lachin-Shusha road, on the bridge over the Hakari River. The “Lachin corridor” still existed. The illegal junta was still wriggling in Khankendi. Arayik Harutyunyan, Ruben Vardanyan and other separatist leaders were still giving interviews and puffing up their cheeks. Russian peacekeepers were still stationed in Khankendi, Aghdara and Khojavand. But Ilham Aliyev played another truly grandmaster game, and the borders of Azerbaijan came under the full control of our country, without “windows”, “corridors” and “gray areas”.
A year ago, Azerbaijan took control of the former Lachin corridor and set up a checkpoint through which military convoys of Russian peacekeepers are now leaving for Armenia. One can recall the hysterics over this in Khankendi, Yerevan, in the offices and corridors of other capitals, where they sought to use Armenia as a trump card against Azerbaijan. And one can also recall the hysterics of Armenian “strategists” and their patrons about the mythical “famine” and “humanitarian catastrophe”. And their attempts to raise the issue in the UN Security Council and how this whole game…
And now, a new brilliant victory of Ilham Aliyev. The process of delimitation and demarcation of the border with Armenia is beginning. And it is beginning with the most seemingly problematic section, Gazakh and Tovuz, with the return of four previously occupied villages. Yes, there are protests in Armenia. But this is more like internal political squabbles of a foreign country. Azerbaijan is confidently taking control of its own territory. And its own borders, which should be peaceful, good-neighborly, stable and clearly defined.
The borders we will not allow anyone to redraw by force.
