“Heydar Aliyev once announced: “Forget Artsakh, Shushi is no longer ours.

May 82026

On May 8, 1992, the city of Shushi of the Republic of Artsakh was liberated after a long period of Azerbaijani occupation.

Although years later it was again under the occupation of Azerbaijan Mayor of Shushi Artsvik Sargsyan it is certain that one day the Armenian city will be liberated again.

He considers what happened 34 years ago to be one of the brilliant pages in the history of Artsakh’s liberation struggle and the history of the Armenian people in general.

“Without the liberation of Shushi, it was not possible to keep Artsakh, and everyone understood this at that time. At that time, Azerbaijanis were bombarding the capital Stepanakert, including Askeran, Karin Tak, from Shushi. In addition, Shushi had to be liberated in order to open the way with Armenia so that the connection would always be there.

Read also

  • “We left our homes crying… The issue of the return of Artsakh and Artsakh Armenians must be resolved “freshly”. Artsvik Sargsyan
  • “People think about their land and graves day and night, hoping that they will return one day. The wind sleeps, but the enemy does not.” Artsvik Sargsyan
  • Don’t ask generals what they can’t do. Movses Hakobyan

Shushi is another symbol in the lives of all of us, it is not for nothing that it is said that whoever controls Shushi, he will also cut off the whole of Artsakh. Shushi is the heart of Artsakh, and it is not for nothing that Artsakh’s victories began with the liberation of Shushi.” 168.amArtsvik Minasyan said in a conversation with

The mayor of Shushi remembers: the preparations for the liberation of Shushi and the whole process seemed to turn into a holiday, because everyone thought that they were going not to war, but to victory.

“The interesting thing is that everyone wanted to participate in the liberation, everyone had their money, everyone had the same goal: the liberation of Shushi. There was the realization that everything depends on the liberation of Shushi. If it was not liberated, then Artsakh would be lost, that’s why everyone went together and registered a victory,” added Artsvik Sargsyan.

Continuing, our interlocutor reminded that the foundation for the liberation of Shushi was laid on January 26, 1992 with the heroic battle of Karin Tak, in which he personally participated. The battle lasted 12 hours, the enemy gave 201 victims and fled in panic, leaving half of the bodies in the valley.

“It was with this battle that Azerbaijan understood that the back of its army was broken, their regular army was depressed. If Shushi and Karin Tak were not released, they would enter Hadrut and other places. Since then, Azerbaijan has named Karin Tak “Bloody Gorge”.

For 30 years, Azerbaijan said that it will capture Shush again, if the Armenian side organizes everything correctly, if they don’t say: forget Artsakh, Artsakh does not exist, then we will be able to liberate both Shush and all of Artsakh again.

Heydar Aliyev used to announce in their Mejlis that “forget it, Artsakh is no longer ours, Shushi is not ours”, but the people organized against his will. We have Artsakh, we have Shushi, cemeteries, sanctuaries, for the sake of all this, even after years, we must achieve what we want, because that land will not forgive us.

I congratulate all the participants in the liberation of Shushi, who feel our Trinity and keep it in their hearts. I bow to the graves of all the victims and to all those who liberated Shush and live next to us today,” stressed Artsvik Sargsyan.

Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Ara Felekian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.

Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2026/05/09/heydar-aliyev-once-announced-forget-artsakh-shushi-is-no-longer-ours/

Leave a Reply