President Ilham Aliev inaugurated the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the country's independence. Azerbaijan’s Supreme Council adopted the Constitutional Act on State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 18 October 1991, and this was later confirmed by a popular referendum in December 1991.
The visit to the South and South east provinces was described as a morale booster at a time when Ankara is facing increased pressure from Kurdish insurgents
The highest ranking Azerbaijani official ever to travel to Armenia officially since the collapse of the Soviet Union has arrived in Yerevan. The Minister of Interior Ramil Usubov is participating in a meeting of CIS Interior Ministers