Azerbaijan is marking five years since the liberation of the Lachin district from Armenian occupation, Report informs.
Under the trilateral statement signed on November 10, 2020, by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Lachin district was formally returned to Azerbaijan on December 1, 2020.
Lachin had been under occupation since May 18, 1992. Its path to liberation began in the fall of 2020. On September 27, the Azerbaijani army launched a counteroffensive in response to what it described as another provocation by Armenian forces along the front line. Over 44 days, Azerbaijani forces liberated five cities, four settlements, and 286 villages. The 44-day Patriotic War concluded with what Azerbaijan called a decisive victory.
Following Armeniaโs defeat on the battlefield, it signed an act of surrender. On December 1, 2020, Azerbaijani units entered the Lachin region and raised the countryโs tricolor flag over the district.
Lachin, considered one of Azerbaijanโs most picturesque regions, lies in the southwestern part of the country in the Lesser Caucasus. It borders Kalbajar to the north, Gubadli to the south, and the districts of Khojaly, Shusha, and Khojavand to the east, with Armenia to its west. The city is 450 kilometers from Baku and 60 kilometers from the Khankandi railway station. The region includes one city, one settlement, and 125 villages.
Covering an area of 1,835 square kilometers, Lachin has 72,000 hectares of pastureland and 34,000 hectares of dense forest. Its rugged terrain includes the Gyzylbogaz peak, rising 3,594 meters above sea level. The Shalva and Minkand rivers flow through the district and merge into the Hakari River, which originates there. The region also contains deposits of mercury, limestone, and other natural resources.
Since July 31, 2023, following a decree by President Ilham Aliyev, Lachin City Day has been officially celebrated each year on August 26.
