"Today is the 99th anniversary of the birth of great leader Heydar Aliyev. Today I visited Fizuli and Shusha. I was in Nakhchivan on May 10 last year. On May 10 this year I am in Karabakh, in liberated Karabakh."

APA reports that President Ilham Aliyev said this during his address in Shusha.

The President stressed that Heydar Aliyev had rendered unparalleled services to the people of Azerbaijan.

"He stood by the people in the most difficult moments for our people, saved the Azerbaijani people from great troubles and tragedies. Heydar Aliyev is the founder of the Azerbaijani statehood, the Azerbaijani state. He dedicated his life to the people and his greatest wish is to see Karabakh free again, As a result of his work in the field of state-building and army-building, the foundations of the state were laid and our country embarked on the path of development.

Unfortunately, my father could not see today.

Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis like him died without seeing this day.

We, their successors, have completed their work, and my father's will has been fulfilled.

Today, the souls of my father, hundreds of thousands of people who died without seeing this day, our martyrs are happy.

We have cheered their spirits, "said President Ilham Aliyev.