Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced the control of his country's forces over the strategic city of Shusha in the Nagorno Karabakh region, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that Azerbaijan's control of the rest of its occupied lands is imminent, as he put it.
Aliyev said - in a televised speech yesterday - that his country's forces had recaptured the city of Shusha, ending what he described as its occupation by Armenia 28 years ago.
The conquest of Shusha is a great victory for Azerbaijan after 6 weeks of battles in the Nagorno Karabakh region, which is not recognized internationally.
The importance of the city of Shousha is that it is located on a hill overlooking the regional capital, Stepanakert, which is a few kilometers away.
The remaining supply road from Armenia also passes from Shusha, linking the Armenian city of Goris and Stepanakert.
The city has symbolic value for the Azeris, who consider it one of their important cultural centers.
Several Azerbaijani cities witnessed rallies for the people, expressing their joy at the restoration of the city of Shusha by their country's forces.
The Anadolu Agency correspondent reported that the streets and alleys of the capital, Baku, were decked out with the country's flags, as people chanted, and car horns sounded to celebrate the victory.
The Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received in Baku the defense and foreign ministers of Turkey.
Aliyev thanked Ankara for standing with Azerbaijan in the ongoing conflict over the Karabakh region.
Erdogan criticizes Minsk
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that what he described as the Minsk trio, in reference to Russia, the United States and France, ignored and deceived the Azerbaijanis for 30 years in the negotiations, and that the Azerbaijanis are currently achieving victory.
Erdogan added - in his speech during an event of his party in the Turkish city of Kocaeli - that control of the rest of the Azerbaijani lands is imminent.
For his part, a spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Defense said that clashes are still taking place in Shusha, and that matters have not been resolved yet.
The ministry said earlier that the fighting is getting more intense on the outskirts of the city, noting that the battles do not stop day and night.
She added that the Azerbaijani forces, reinforced with additional equipment and personnel, were able to make progress, but the Armenian army is constantly resisting, inflicting losses on the attackers.
On the other hand, a source in the Armenian Foreign Ministry told the island that many journalists left the city of Stepanakert yesterday evening, and that civilians were leaving the capital of the region towards the Armenian lands.