44 days that changed the region

In the four years since the 44-day Patriotic War, the world has literally turned upside down. Two large-scale bloody conflicts have broken out, the end of which is not in sight. The global political field has become even more polarized, with more hostility and xenophobia. Looking at what is happening, we return again and again to those 44 days that shook the world.

The second Karabakh war was a natural result of fruitless negotiations. The negotiations lasted for several decades and served to strengthen the status quo in the occupation zone. During the years of the so-called peace process, Armenia strengthened itself on the occupied lands, destroyed and erased traces of the Azerbaijani presence, plundered the bowels and other natural resources of our land. The Armenians used the same methods that once turned the Azerbaijani Irevan into Yerevan. It was a proven technique. And most importantly, there was no reaction from the international community to the destruction of the occupied cities and villages, to the destruction of the cultural, spiritual and historical heritage of the Azerbaijani people. It watched in silence, as before, the transformation of the historical Azerbaijani territories into present-day Armenia.

This was all very inspiring to the aggressor. His patrons urged him to delay negotiations and not worry about anything. To wait for Baku to run out of steam, for Azerbaijani society to rise up and internal political chaos to begin. Then, the Armenians were convinced, the moment would come when Baku would finally stop being stubborn and agree to everything. Expectations were not fulfilled - no one was exhausted and did not get up. On the contrary, Azerbaijani society rallied, the country became stronger, and built an army that was ready to rush into battle at the first order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Time worked for Azerbaijan. They talked about this in Baku, but in Yerevan and in the capitals that patronize it, they laughed, confident that the further they go, the stronger the foundation of the occupation. It was a huge mistake. The belief in its own myths and the powerful support of its patrons has failed Armenia. She believed that the words "there is no military solution to the conflict" are not just words that the powers will never allow Azerbaijan to fight, and rested on her laurels.

Armenia and its guardians underestimated the strength of the Azerbaijani army, the high patriotism of the Azerbaijani people and the talent of a strategist demonstrated by President Ilham Aliyev. No one expected Azerbaijan to go all the way.

The Second Karabakh war was a triumph of the power of Azerbaijani weapons, Azerbaijani servicemen demonstrated unparalleled courage. The whole society was seized with a patriotic impulse. There were so many people willing to go to the front that mobilization was not required. Azerbaijani youth picketed military enlistment offices demanding to enlist in the army, people saw off buses with recruits not with tears, but with flags. They say that there were police corridors on both our and the Armenian side of the front line. This is necessary because war is not a gateway. So, there were corridors on both sides, but on the Azerbaijani side - in order not to let those in. who was eager to fight, and from the Armenian side - so as not to let out those who wanted to desert. If the 44-day war became a demonstration of courage and military honor for the Azerbaijani army, for the Armenian army it turned into a series of shameful incidents and defeats. It seems that the neighbors learned a lot about themselves thanks to that war. However, judging by what is happening today, they did not draw the right conclusions.

Ten thousand deserters were counted in the Armenian army after the end of the war. There was not a single coward in our army. This phenomenon was then dealt with by military specialists. They were perplexed - how could this be? Enemy propaganda created a very unsympathetic image of the Azerbaijani, and on the side they were sure that our people were a "merchant nation" capable only of selling tomatoes in Moscow bazaars or shuffling somewhere in Europe. And this "people-trader" accomplished the impossible in 44 days - defeated an enemy that had been well fortified for three decades.

Thirty years of the Armenian occupation have left deep scars and wounds in the hearts and memory of the Azerbaijani people, the pain of which was felt by new generations who did not see the war. However, these wounds did not prevent them from fighting with dignity and defeating a dishonorable enemy with dignity. Azerbaijan can be proud of its victory - it won it honestly, observing the laws of war, leaving emotions for later. As President Ilham Aliyev said at one of the meetings, we did not fight with the civilian population, did not bomb residential buildings, did not show cruelty, although the feeling of revenge has always lived in the heart of our people. "The Armenians committed genocide against us, carried out a policy of ethnic cleansing against us, and the feeling of revenge had to be present. But I said that we will take revenge on the enemy on the battlefield. The whole world, all military experts have repeatedly noted that Azerbaijan waged this war with great skill, skillfully, and achieved its goal in a short time. At the same time, he fought the war with dignity, observing all the laws of war. That is why the civilian casualties on the enemy side amounted to less than 30 people. And that's because these civilians participated in the fighting," the head of state said.

According to the personal order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, combat operations were developed taking into account the minimization of losses among personnel and the civilian population. If not for this, the war could have ended in a week, but with significantly greater losses. The life of every soldier was valuable to the Supreme Commander, who rejected the principle of "victory at any cost." The Armenian side invents figures, demands something from international organizations, tells tall tales about the alleged atrocities of Azerbaijani soldiers and the alleged bombing of cities and villages even in Armenia. Meanwhile, even the Azerbaijani side did not respond in kind to the shelling of Ganja, Barda, Terter and our other cities. President Ilham Aliyev has unequivocally stated that the Azerbaijani army will respond to the atrocities of the Armenian armed Forces only on the battlefield. Armenian civilians were not injured for the rocket attack on Ganja, for the deaths of children, women and the elderly, but their armed forces had to answer in full for these atrocities. The innocent blood of not a single murdered child remained on the ground, and the Armenian side had to pay for everything with devastating defeats in every battle and numerous losses in personnel and equipment.

According to the degree of humanism and adherence to the rules of war fixed in various conventions, the Azerbaijani army should go down in history. We see what is happening in the world today, by what methods the warring parties are trying to gain advantage. There is no place for humanity and honor in these conflicts. Thousands and thousands of innocent victims stained the pavements of bombed cities with their blood. And there is no end in sight to the bloodshed. The participants of these conflicts learned from the 44-day Patriotic War of Azerbaijan the methods of the war of the XXI century, but missed the most important thing - the ability of Azerbaijani soldiers to remain human. This is probably the hardest thing to learn.

Addressing the people after the barbaric shelling of Ganja by Armenians on October 17, President Ilham Aliyev said: "We are responding to them on the battlefield, we are taking revenge and we will avenge these innocent people on the battlefield. We have never fought, have not fought and will not fight against the civilian population. We are not Armenians."

Azerbaijan is perhaps the only country that has waged war, avoiding great destruction and casualties among the enemy's civilian population. It was not easy, because the Armenian side did everything to expose civilian facilities, kindergartens, hospitals, and civilians to attacks.

To win by any means is not the way of an Azerbaijani warrior. Azerbaijan showed its best side during the 44-day war and can serve as an example. This example is very necessary today, because wars have no end and they are becoming more technological and destructive.

The Second Karabakh war destroyed all stereotypes.

First, the myth of the invincibility of the Armenian army was destroyed. The tales of the "iron ashots" and "warriors of light" were ground to powder. This led to massive depression and bitterness in the Armenian society.

Secondly, the victory in the war forced the world to look at Azerbaijan with different eyes. It immediately moved to the rank of medium-strength states. However, this increased the irritation of the enemies and pushed them to even more aggressive propaganda against Baku. But this can be called a side effect, silt that will eventually settle.

Thirdly, the myth was destroyed that a small state cannot make independent decisions about war and peace without asking the "elders". It turns out, maybe very successfully. Azerbaijan has been in the legal field in all its actions and has clearly demonstrated that international law still works if you are right. The truth was on our side, and no one could stop us.

The 44-day war has created a new reality in the region.

Happy Victory Day!