Georgian Azerbaijanis: "It will be a great happiness to experience joy of Shusha"

"Holding a congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha is a double holiday for us. I am looking forward to going to Shusha and seeing this city," former member of the Georgian parliament Ruslan Hajiyev, who will attend the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha, told the local bureau of Report.

Noting that he is in an emotional state, Hajiyev said he is very proud.

“We always appreciated the congresses held in Baku. As a result of the correct domestic and foreign policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan liberated its lands from occupation. We, as one of the Azerbaijanis of the world, are going to Shusha to experience this joy. It is a great honor to hold the congress in Shusha, and I congratulate the people of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijanis of the world on this occasion."

According to him, it is a great happiness to live in Shusha. “I think it is possible to die after seeing Shusha. We will kiss the land of Shusha, each mountain and stone. We will take part in this great event and write those days in golden letters in our lives.”

Another participant from Georgia, Leyla Aliyeva, deputy director of the Mirza Fatali Akhundzada Museum of Azerbaijani Culture in Tbilisi, said she did not believe she would go to Karabakh or Shusha.

“At the commemorative events held in our museum in connection with the cities and regions that were once occupied, we always expressed our desire to have Azerbaijani lands liberated from occupation and celebrate Victory Day. The victory and my trip to Shusha - the cultural capital of Azerbaijan – is a great pride for me. These feelings give me immeasurable joy.”

Leyla Aliyeva also expressed her intention regarding Shusha.

“It will be a great happiness for me to go to native and free Shusha. I will first commemorate our heroic martyrs in Shusha. From there, I will take soil to Georgia and give it as a gift to my close friends and acquaintances who long to see Shusha, but have not yet been able to do so. One of my relatives asked me to bring bread from Shusha. The soil from Shusha will also be located in one of the corners of our museum as the most valuable exhibit.”

Aygul Isayeva, associate professor of the International Caucasus University, Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, said that holding the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in free Shusha is of great historic and political significance. I will take part in the congress for the first time, it is a great honor for me to participate in such a historic event."

According to her, political and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia are at a high level, but cultural ties are unsatisfactory.

“Everything is powerless in the face of culture. Azerbaijan has a culture that can subdue the whole world. I hope that at the Shusha congress, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, panel discussions will be held and concrete steps will be taken to further develop relations between the two countries, especially in the fields of culture and education.”