On 26 February 1992, troops of the Republic of Armenia which attacked the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly in Nagorno-Karabakh massacred 613 Azerbaijani citizens including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people. A total of 1, 275 inhabitants were taken hostage and the fate of 150 persons remains unknown to this day. Today, twenty percent of Azerbaijani territories is still under Armenian occupation and approximately one million of our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters have been living as refugees.

Turkey commiserates deeply with her Azerbaijani brothers and sisters over this brutal attack and massacre which they suffered 25 years ago and shares their pain. Those who perpetuated this tragedy will be eternally condemned before the history and in the collective conscience. We strongly condemn these massacres carried out by troops of the Republic of Armenia and the continuation of the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories. We wish God’s mercy upon those who lost their lives in this massacre, respectfully bow before their memories.