An event was held in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, on January 20 - National Day of Mourning.

APA's Istanbul correspondent reports that the event was jointly organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Turkey and the Turkey-Azerbaijan Friendship, Cooperation and Solidarity Foundation.

The event was attended by political and public figures from Azerbaijan and Turkey, employees of the Embassy of Azerbaijan, as well as media representatives and Azerbaijani cadets studying in Turkey.

During his speech, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Turkey Rashad Mammadov pointed out that the events of January 20 are one of the most important pages in the history of independence and freedom of the Azerbaijani people.

He noted that the people of Azerbaijan managed to restore their independence at the cost of their own blood.

Ambassador, in 1988, the Armenian SSR made groundless claims against the Azerbaijan SSR, and the Soviet Union turned a blind eye to it: "The people of Azerbaijan demanded the cancellation of this illegal claim.

The Soviet army drove tanks over the people and killed innocent people, not to mention the elderly, women, and children.

Despite the ban, more than one million Azerbaijanis took to the streets of Baku and attended the funeral of the martyrs.

"The USSR, the prison of nations, collapsed at the cost of the blood of the Azerbaijani people," the ambassador stressed.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Yasin Ekrem Serim, for his part, said that the events of January 20 are a heroic saga of the Turkish people.

According to him, after 30 years, the Azerbaijani army liberated the occupied lands within 44 days.

"This victory revived our hopes for a strong Turkish world.

The return of Buruk, which began after the liberation of the land, and the ongoing reconstruction works in the region are a source of pride for us," said the Deputy Minister.