BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. President of
Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has congratulated Azerbaijan on the
anniversary of the liberation of Baku, marked on September 15.


This was reflected in the relevant post published on Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan's X account.


"I congratulate [everyone] on the anniversary of the liberation
of Baku—the capital of friendly and fraternal Azerbaijan—from enemy
occupation, and I commemorate with reverence the commander of the
Caucasus Islamic Army, Nuri Kıllıgil Paşa, and his heroic
soldiers," the post stated.


When the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was proclaimed on May
28, 1918, the city of Baku was under the control of
Bolshevik-Armenian armed forces led by the Baku Council of People's
Commissars (headed by Stepan Shaumyan). Consequently, the national
government was temporarily based in Ganja, and the liberation of
Baku became one of the Republic's primary objectives. Given that
the government had a force of only 600 personnel at its disposal,
it was impossible to contend with the Baku Soviet's 18,000-strong
army.


In response to Azerbaijan's appeal, the Ottoman Empire decided
to provide military assistance, and the Caucasus Army of Islam was
formed under the command of Nuru Pasha. This military aid was
formalized through a treaty signed between Azerbaijan and the
Ottoman Empire on June 4, 1918. The victory achieved in the battles
of Goychay in late June and early July halted the advance of the
Baku Soviet troops toward Ganja and paved the way for a
counter-offensive by the Caucasus Army of Islam in the direction of
Baku; subsequently, the towns of Goychay, Kurdamir, Aghsu, and
Shamakhi were liberated.


Despite the advance toward Baku, the Centro-Caspian Dictatorship
and the foreign forces supporting it put up fierce resistance
within the city. Although the Caucasus Islamic Army's initial
assault on Baku on August 5 was unsuccessful, Turkish-Azerbaijani
forces gained a decisive advantage during the subsequent offensive
launched on the night of September 14. British troops withdrew from
Baku on September 14, and the Centro-Caspian Dictatorship was
defeated on September 15, bringing the two-day operation to a
brilliant conclusion.


On September 16, a parade of Turkish-Azerbaijani military units
was held to mark the liberation of Baku, and the following day, the
government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic relocated its
capital from Ganja to Baku. Thus, the liberation of Azerbaijan's
political, economic, and strategic center ushered in a new phase in
the republic's state-building process. The Ottoman army suffered
1,130 martyrs during the liberation of Baku, and this victory
remains one of the most significant chapters in the history of
friendship and brotherhood between Azerbaijan and Türkiye.