Turkey’s religious leader visits liberated Shusha

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Turkey’s religious leader Ali Erbash has visited Azerbaijan's Shusha city liberated from Armenia's occupation in 2020, Yeni Shafak newspaper reported on October 27.

Erbash visited the historical Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha and recited prayer together with the head of the Mushafs review and recitation board, Hafiz Osman Shahin, in the mosque, the report added.

"We were also fortunate to recite the adhan at the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque, which is the symbol of the liberation of Shusha, the heart of Karabakh, from the occupation. May Allah Almighty not deprive our geography of the peace of Islam and the sounds of prayer until the end of the day," Erbash wrote on his social media account.

It should be noted that Erbash was in Azerbaijan as a member of the Turkish delegation led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that came for a one-day official visit on October 26.

As a part of Erdogan’s official visit, the Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents inaugurated the Fuzuli international Airport, laid the foundation for the Zangazur corridor and a smart village in Zangilan.

This was Erdogan’s second visit to Azerbaijan’s liberated territories since the 44-day war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

On June 15, the two countries signed a memorandum of alliance that cemented the existing military, political and economic cooperation.

The Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations that President Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed during the first official visit to Shusha eight months after Azerbaijan’s victory in the war with Armenia, also focuses on defence cooperation.

It affirms joint efforts by the two armies in the face of foreign threats. The declaration also pledges joint efforts for the restructuring and modernization of the armed forces. Moreover, the two nations affirm to encourage the execution of joint projects with the aim of developing capabilities in the field of sea, air, and space.

President Ilham Aliyev said on October 26 that the Shusha Declaration signed in the city of Shusha is a historic document. He stressed that the declaration officially raised Azerbaijani-Turkish relations to the level of alliance.

Shusha, which was occupied by Armenian forces on May 8, 1992, was liberated from Armenia's occupation on November 8, 2020. The city, which played a critical role in liberating Karabakh, is located on the road to Khankandi, the region's largest city.

A Russia-brokered ceasefire deal that Azerbaijan and Armenia signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to the 44-day war between the two countries. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied.