BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 18
By Jeyhun Alakbarov – Trend:
Azerbaijan will make every effort to restore Shusha city, to turn it into a modern and developed historical city, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture Ilgar Isbatov said, Trend reports on Dec. 18.
"In this regard, the research work has already begun in Shusha city," the deputy chairman said. "Specialists are exploring the housing stock, social enterprises, infrastructure, and transport on the spot. The first tasks that we face are the revival of the city during a short period of time and ensuring necessary conditions for the population to live there. The development of the master plan of the city and the revival of the historical parts of the city are of paramount importance."
Isbatov added that the committee has prepared an appropriate plan, the whole team has been involved in this work.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.
Back in July 2020, the Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, the Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.