Turkish first lady shares joy of Azerbaijan at parade

ANKARA

Turkey’s first lady Emine Erdogan on Thursday shared the joy of Azerbaijani people by participating in a military parade marking Baku’s victory in Upper Karabakh.

“We always stand by the rightful cause of Azerbaijan. I thank President Ilham Aliyev and his valued wife Mehriban Aliyeva for their sincere hosting,” Erdogan said on Twitter.

Apart from the first lady, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Communications Director Fahrettin Altun attended the ceremony of Victory Parade in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

The parade was held at the Azadlig Square to celebrate Azerbaijan's recent military success in liberating its region of Nagorno-Karabakh from nearly 30 years of the Armenian occupation.

The parade featured over 3,000 personnel, some 150 military hardware, including missiles and artillery systems, air defense systems, unarmed aerial vehicles, warships and boats, as well as part of the military equipment seized by the Azerbaijani army from the Armenian forces during the Patriotic War.

Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 armed drones -- purchased by Azerbaijan and played a significant role during the clashes -- were exhibited as well. Turkey's elite special force units -- also known as the Maroon Berets -- also attended the parade.

*Writing by Sena Guler