Ilham Aliyev: I am paying my first official visit after pandemic to fraternal Uzbekistan

“I am paying my first official visit after the pandemic to fraternal Uzbekistan. This is a manifestation of our relations, a manifestation of the brotherhood and friendship between our peoples,” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who is on a state visit to Uzbekistan.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Heydar Aliyev Square in Tashkent, Report informs referring to AzerTag.

"I am very grateful to my dear brother Shavkat Miromonovich for the initiative, for creating such a beautiful corner in the center of Tashkent dedicated to the memory of my father Heydar Aliyev. A street, a square, a bas-relief, a beautiful park – this is a truly fraternal attitude towards the memory of the great leader of the Azerbaijani people, towards the entire Azerbaijani people. We in Azerbaijan highly appreciate this. We are very grateful, and we see this as a truly fraternal attitude of our Uzbek brothers to our great leader, to our common history. It is also a sign of respect for the entire Azerbaijani people to whom Heydar Aliyev devoted his entire life. I am very grateful to Shavkat Miromonovich for the kind words about my father. He has very succinctly and accurately described our leader. Heydar Aliyev dedicated his whole life to serving Azerbaijan, and both in the Soviet times and during the years of independence, he was always with his people. In the most difficult times, at times when our people were subjected to aggression and persecution, he always stood next to the people.

On 20 January 1990, two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, he publicly condemned the Soviet leadership for sending the Soviet army to Baku, killing and injuring hundreds of innocent Azerbaijanis. This required great political courage. Because it was still not known back then how much longer the Soviet Union would exist. He did that. He was also with his people in the most difficult times, when the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic was subjected to aggression, and by leading the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic he essentially defended this historical piece of Azerbaijan, this ancient land from aggression. It was also on his initiative that the flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which existed from 1918 to the 1920, was officially adopted as the state flag in Nakhchivan long before the Soviet Union was consigned to history and Azerbaijan restored its independence," Ilham Aliyev said.