Azerbaijani president's visit to Khojaly garners wide coverage in Turkish media PHOTO

The visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Arzu Aliyeva to Khojaly was widely covered by leading Turkish media.

Anadolu Agency, TRT TV, Milliyet, Sözcü, Star, Yeni SHAFAK, Haberler.com and other online media drew attention to the head of state's visit, Azertag reports.

"Aliyev visited Khojaly! ", "Azerbaijan will no longer live with bitterness", "Resettlement of Azerbaijani families started in Khojaly, where Armenians committed genocide", "Azerbaijani President addressed Armenia in Khojaly", "Aliyev warned: We are watching new attempts of territorial claims", "New era in Khojaly liberated from occupation: Azerbaijani families return" - these and other news items published under different headlines emphasise that President Ilham Aliyev celebrates Independence Day in the territories liberated from occupation together with former IDPs who have returned to these regions.

The publications informed about Azerbaijan's big programme on the restoration of territories liberated from occupation and return of IDPs to their homeland. It was noted that President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Arzu Aliyeva familiarised themselves with restoration and rehabilitation works carried out in the town of Khojaly, new projects, including an overhauled residential complex.

The Head of State and the First Lady handed flat keys to 20 families who were the first to return to Khojaly. News reports conveyed the Head of State's thoughts on the works being carried out in Khojaly, including the construction of new residential houses and the creation of the Khojaly Memorial Complex, the foundation of which was laid on 26 February together with Khojaly residents.

The articles referring to President Ilham Aliyev's statements in Khojaly give special place to his opinion that everything has its time, that we are returning to our native lands, that both the Patriotic War and the anti-terrorist operation prove to the whole world the strength, will of our people and heroism of our soldiers and officers.

In this regard, the following words of President Ilham Aliyev were particularly emphasised: "Thanks to their heroism, selflessness, we are here today. They dealt such a crushing blow to the enemy that I am sure Armenia will never try to make any military provocation against Azerbaijan after that. While there are quite a lot of revanchists in Armenia. We are following the recent events, we see that again attempts are being made to make territorial claims against us. That is why we should be ready at any moment. Of course, first of all, we have to make our army stronger, and we are doing it".

Moreover, Turkish media reminded of the genocide committed by Armenians in Khojaly on the night of 25-26 February 1992. It was noted that as a result of the anti-terrorist operation conducted by the Azerbaijani army, the town of Khojaly, as well as many territories, was liberated from occupation and returned to its original owners.