Turkish defense head writes to Karabakh martyr's family

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Turkey's National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Thursday sent a letter to the family of an Azerbaijani martyred in the Upper Karabakh conflict.

An official from Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry delivered the letter to the family of late Lt. Valeh Memiyev in the Kurekchi village of the southern Yardymly district.

"We are deeply saddened by the martyrdom of Lieutenant Valeh Memiyev, who was seriously injured during the 44-day heroic struggle of the glorious Azerbaijani army, which liberated its territories under Armenian occupation," Akar said in the letter.

"The courage, heroism, and sacrifice of our martyrs and veterans will never be forgotten," he added.

He expressed his country's full support to Azerbaijan and invited the martyr's family to Turkey for a visit.

Lt. Memiyev participated in a joint Azerbaijani-Turkish military drill held last August.

He was awarded a medal at the end of the exercises in which Akar praised the soldier's "outstanding strength and professionalism".

At the award ceremony, Akar told him: "Your main task should be to liberate your lands that have been under occupation for 30 years. You must prove your success on the battlefield too."

"We are waiting for orders from the commander-in-chief. As soon as they arrive, we will save our land," Memiyev vowed at the ceremony.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought for six weeks last year after new clashes erupted on Sept. 27. The Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.