On Friday evening, November 8, in celebration of Victory Day in the Second Karabakh War, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Tirana, Mr. Anar Huseynov, hosted a reception at the Hilton Garden hotel. The event was attended by representatives from the diplomatic corps, central and local government, business sectors, and media. In his welcome address, Ambassador Huseynov highlighted that this fourth anniversary of Azerbaijan’s victory—restoring sovereignty over internationally recognized Azerbaijani territories—marks the beginning of a new era in Azerbaijan's history.

“As known, the baseless territorial claims and aggressive policies by the Republic of Armenia, lacking historical and legal foundation, led to the occupation of 20% of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s territories from the early 1990s onward. Approximately a million Azerbaijanis were displaced from their ancestral homes due to the severe ethnic cleansing carried out in Armenia and occupied Azerbaijani territories,” stated the ambassador.

He pointed out that, although UN Security Council resolutions from 1993, UN General Assembly Resolution 62/243 from 2008, and resolutions from other international organizations reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group and other bodies to resolve the conflict were unsuccessful due to Armenia’s stance.

“Taking advantage of the international community’s inaction, Armenia launched attacks on the front lines of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in April 2016 and in July and August of 2020. The countermeasures by Azerbaijan led to significant losses of Armenian military personnel and equipment. Following another provocation on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan exercised its UN-granted right to self-defense, initiating a counteroffensive to bring Armenia to peace and end the occupation of Azerbaijani lands,” Ambassador Huseynov explained, noting that Armenia capitulated after only 44 days, signing a Joint Declaration on November 8.

He emphasized that Azerbaijan, a diverse unitary state with a longstanding tradition of tolerance, is a shared homeland for all its citizens, regardless of ethnicity. Armenians in Karabakh have equal rights and freedoms as other Azerbaijani citizens and are welcomed back if they are ready to respect the Azerbaijani Constitution. Ambassador Huseynov noted that the parties are now in intensive peace negotiations, with hopes for a prompt resolution.

The event continued with a special concert by renowned Azerbaijani pianist Turan Manafzadeh and a photo exhibition titled “Azerbaijan - View from the Sky” by acclaimed Albanian photographer Alket Islami.