Azerbaijan's chief public prosecutor visits Turkey

ANKARA

Azerbaijan's chief public prosecutor on Tuesday paid an official visit to Turkey.

Visiting Turkey at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Bekir Sahin, Kamran Aliyev and his delegation visited Mehmet Akarca, the head of the Supreme Court, in the capital Ankara.

During the meeting at the Supreme Court building, Akarca congratulated Aliyev on the liberation last year of occupied Azerbaijani territories from Armenian occupation, saying they are proud of the Azerbaijani army.

Akarca also touted the benefits of Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation, adding that relations continue improving under late President Heydar Aliyev’s principle of "one nation, two states."

Aliyev, for his part, stressed that the two countries are "brothers and friends" and thanked Turkey for supporting Azerbaijan.

Liberation of occupied lands

Relations between the ex-Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted last September, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade occupation.

Last November, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russian-brokered peace deal to end fighting.

The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.