The 19 September anti-terrorist operation in Garabagh marked not just a military success for Azerbaijan but a watershed in the country’s modern history. Within a matter of hours, the Azerbaijani armed forces dismantled the remnants of illegal armed formations entrenched in the region, thereby restoring constitutional order and securing the nation’s territorial integrity. And as the following day, 20 September, was declared Azerbaijan’s Sovereignty Day, the symbolism could not have been stronger: sovereignty once compromised was now fully restored.

What is striking is not only the decisiveness of the operation itself but also the political strategy that enabled it; an outcome of President Ilham Aliyev’s farsighted diplomacy, combined with Azerbaijan’s resilience against international pressures that might have otherwise derailed this course.

For decades, Garabagh was a theatre of conflict and uncertainty, a sore point in Azerbaijan’s sovereignty. The 44-day Patriotic War of 2020 broke the back of the occupation, liberating vast swathes of territory. Yet, pockets of illegality persisted, sustained by external patrons and entrenched separatist networks. The events of September 2023 were, in this context, not an isolated action but the final phase of a long and deliberate policy to assert the rule of law across the entirety of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognised borders.

President Aliyev’s role in bringing this outcome to fruition cannot be overstated. His strategy........

© AzerNews