Lithuanian president expresses solidarity with Azerbaijan on Black January anniversary

President Nausėda at the memorial in Baku. AI-generated image.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Monday expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan as the country marked the anniversary of the Black January events of 1990, honoring those killed during the Soviet military crackdown in Baku.

In a post on the social media platform X, Nausėda said Lithuania stands with the Azerbaijani people in remembering the victims, drawing a parallel with Lithuania’s own experience of Soviet violence during the January 1991 events in Vilnius.

He stressed that such tragedies should never be repeated and paid tribute to those who lost their lives, calling for eternal remembrance of the martyrs.

Black January, observed annually on January 20, commemorates the deaths of more than 130 civilians when Soviet troops entered Baku in 1990 amid Azerbaijan’s independence movement.