My wife and I were very shocked when we learned about the death of Heydar Aliyev, a prominent figure and founder of modern Azerbaijan. This is because the President holds a special place in my heart and in the hearts of my family members.

In the early 70s of the 20^th century Heydar Aliyev visited Syria as a representative of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. As an employee of Syrian television, I met with Mr. Heydar Aliyev and interviewed him about the visit. During the interview, Heydar Aliyev asked me: “What would you like from Moscow? If you need anything from your Muslim friends, you can tell me without hesitation.” His simple and sincere attitude inspired me, and I turned to him for a solution to my problem. At that time, I wanted to marry a girl who was a Syrian citizen but lived in Moscow. However, corresponding Soviet authorities did not allow the girl to leave Moscow for Syria. I appealed to Heydar Aliyev with a request to solve this problem. He smiled and said, “I thought your request would be a major problem.”

Two weeks later, the visa department in Moscow informed my fiancée that the corresponding authorities had no objection to her trip to Syria: later I learned that Heydar Aliyev phoned and resolved the issue.

The late President laid the foundation of my family happiness at that time. Throughout our lives, I, my wife, and our children will be grateful to him for this favor. We will never forget him.

I wanted to convey my gratitude to the family of the late President Heydar Aliyev. But all my attempts failed. Then I turned to Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to China, my friend Yashar Aliyev for help. I thank the Ambassador for his assistance.

I pray for God’s mercy to Heydar Aliyev and plead for the protection of our friendly Azerbaijan and its prosperity and progress

I wish thriving success to the new President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.