Speech by President Ilham Aliyev at the meeting of CIS Heads of State Council

- Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Dear colleagues.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, on your belated birthday once again and wish you robust health, the best of luck, and continued success and achievements to the friendly people of Russia. The recent state visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Azerbaijan once again confirmed the allied nature of Azerbaijan-Russia relations. I am confident that the implementation of the agreements reached will serve the progressive development of our relations in the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Emomali Sharifovich Rahmon every success in the presidency of the Republic of Tajikistan in the CIS next year, and to congratulate him on his belated birthday once again.

According to the decision of the Humanitarian Cooperation Council of the CIS, the city of Lachin in the East Zangezur region of Azerbaijan has been declared the cultural capital of the CIS for 2025. Lachin is one of the cities of Azerbaijan that was under Armenian occupation for almost 30 years and was almost completely destroyed. Today, the town of Lachin has already been restored. A new life has started there, and former IDPs have returned. The declaration of Lachin as the cultural capital of the CIS was received with immense gratitude both by the natives of Lachin and the entire Azerbaijani people.

Next year, the 3rd CIS Games will be held in Azerbaijan, with the city of Ganja becoming the sports capital. Competitions will also take place in more than 10 cities across Azerbaijan.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Belarus on the successful hosting of the 2nd CIS Games. The experience of our Belarusian friends and brothers will be very useful as we prepare to host this important sporting event.

In a month's time, Baku will host the largest international event, the COP29 climate conference. We view the unanimous decision of nearly 200 countries to hold the conference in Baku as a sign of respect from the entire world of nations for Azerbaijan.

Dear colleagues, today we will adopt an appeal by the CIS Heads of State on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Azerbaijan made a significant contribution to our shared victory. Out of a total population of 3.4 million at the time, around 700,000 Azerbaijani citizens went to the frontline, with more than 350,000 losing their lives on the battlefield. A total of 130 natives of Azerbaijan received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war, Azerbaijan’s oil workers supplied over 80 percent of the oil and oil products, and 96 percent of the oils used for military equipment. All of this was produced in Azerbaijan, representing those percentages of total production within the USSR at the time. More than 130 types of weapons, ammunition, and equipment were produced in Azerbaijan, including the famous “Katyusha” rockets and Yak-3 fighters.

There were 41 military hospitals in Baku, where 440,000 wounded people were treated. In March 1942, soldiers of the 416th Azerbaijan Rifle Division, also known as the Taganrog Division, took the oath and began their combat journey in the North Caucasus, which they concluded in Berlin. On April 21, 1945, the 416th Azerbaijan Rifle Division was one of the first to reach the outskirts of Berlin. On May 2, fighters of the division, under the command of Colonel Rashid Majidov, hoisted the Victory Banner over the Brandenburg Gate.

Our common Victory Day on May 9 is an important factor in further cooperation among CIS member states. Azerbaijan attaches enormous significance to this cooperation and will continue to contribute to the strengthening of our interaction.

Thank you for your attention.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much, Ilham Heydarovich.