"During the 44-day Patriotic War, the Azerbaijani people, under the leadership of the wise leader, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, and thanks to the determination of the Azerbaijani army, liberated their territories, putting an end to the 30-year occupation. During the period of occupation, Armenia carried out ethnic cleansing and genocide not only against Azerbaijani people, but also against the Turkic-Islamic cultural and spiritual heritage of our country."
According to Report's Turkish bureau, Chairman of the Board of Muslims of Caucasus Allahshukur Pashazada said this during his speech at the founding conference of the Council of Religious Leaders of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States in Istanbul.
He also spoke about the fact that the Armenian militants for many years caused serious damage to the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan.
"During the occupation, acts of vandalism were committed against the monuments of the general Islamic, Turkic national and spiritual heritage. At present, the Azerbaijani state is restoring these monuments, carrying out their reconstruction".
A. Pashazada said that the announcement of the city of Shusha as the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2023 will contribute to the popularization of historical monuments of Turkic-Islamic culture in the world.