WNAM MONITORING: Four years have passed since the liberation of Azerbaijan’s Lachin district from the Armenian occupation.
In accordance with a 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 returned to Azerbaijan on December 1.
Lachin was occupied on May 18, 1992.
On September 27, 2020, the Azerbaijani army, preventing another provocation of the Armenian armed forces at the front, launched a counteroffensive, liberating several regions, hundreds of villages, towns, and strategic heights over the course of the war. The 44-day Patriotic War was crowned with a brilliant victory for the Azerbaijani army.
Having suffered defeat on the battlefield, Armenia was forced to sign an act of surrender. On December 1, 2020, units of the Azerbaijani army entered the region and raised the tricolor flag of Azerbaijan over the liberated Lachin.
Lachin, one of the picturesque corners of Azerbaijan, is located in the southwestern part of the republic, in the Lesser Caucasus. The district borders Kalbajar in the north, Gubadli in the south, Khojaly, Shusha, and Khojavand districts of Azerbaijan in the east, and Armenia in the west. The distance from the city of Lachin to Baku is 450 km, and the Khankandi railway station is 60 kilometers from the city. The region includes one city, one settlement, and 125 villages.
The total area of the Lachin district is 1,835 square kilometers, with 72,000 hectares of pasture land and 34,000 hectares of dense forest. The district is located in a mountainous area, the highest point is the Gyzylbogaz peak (3,594 meters above sea level). The rivers Shalva and Minkand flowing through the territory of the district, merging, flow into the river Hakari (length 113 km), which originates from the territory of the district. There are also deposits of mercury, limestone, and other natural resources.
Lachin City Day is solemnly celebrated on August 26 every year following the decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev on July 31, 2023.
Thus, on August 26, 2023, the State Flag of Azerbaijan was raised in the city of Lachin. The Commander of the Army Corps, Major General Kanan Seyidov reported to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev, about the deployment of the Azerbaijani Army to the city of Lachin. Now the National Flag of Azerbaijan flies in the center of Lachin.