MOSCOW (AA) – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated on Friday Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and the nation over regaining control of Karabakh in September, which he called an "epochal event."
Speaking at a meeting with Aliyev in Azerbaijan's capital Baku where Tokayev is paying an official visit, the Kazakh leader said the return of Karabakh to Azerbaijan was carried out in accordance with international law and UN resolutions.
He also highlighted Aliyev's role in reclaiming control over Karabakh. "This became possible thanks to your strong leadership, far-sighted and wise policy aimed at strengthening statehood, improving the welfare of the people and increasing the authority of Baku in the world community. I think this is a really historic event," Tokayev said.
Aliyev, for his part, emphasized that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan "are reaching the highest level of cooperation in the entire history" of the two countries.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement, and also opened the door to normalization.
This September, the Azerbaijani army initiated an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh to establish constitutional order in the region, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.
Azerbaijan, having now established full sovereignty in the region, has reiterated its request to the Armenian population in Karabakh to become part of Azerbaijani society.