Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

As part of the “Justice for Khojaly” campaign carried out on the occasion of the next anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, an expedition has been organized to Agri Mountain in Turkey.

During the expedition, Azerbaijani military alpinists will climb the 5,157-meter peak of Agri Mountain, wave the flags of Azerbaijan and Turkey, and also post photographs of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy on the highest peak of the mountain.

Before the visit, the expedition participants laid flowers at the “Ana harayı” (Mother's Cry) Memorial dedicated to the Khojaly massacre, paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the tragedy.

Officers of the Air Force of Azerbaijan, Lieutenant Colonel Zal Nabiyev, First Lieutenant Ulvi Mammadli, as well as experienced alpinists of the Azerbaijan Mountaineering Federation Rufat Gojaev and Nemat Agayev are participating in the expedition.

The expedition will last until March 1.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the longest unresolved conflict between the two states of the South Caucasus region in the post-Soviet space and Turkey has always supported the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied nearly 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Until now, Armenia has failed to implement the four UN Security Council resolutions on the immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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