The Turkic Council, officially the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, has proposed to declare Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) as the 2022 cultural capital of the Turkic world.

The proposal was made during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and this organization's secretary general Baghdad Amreyev, according to Aliyev's press service reported.

"Every year we declare a [cultural] capital of the Turkic world. We propose to declare the city of Shusha [(Shushi)] the capital in 2022. This will emphasize the importance of the city of Shusha for the entire Turkic and Islamic world. We will start that work; in 2022, about 20 [respective] events will be held in Shusha. I am confident that until then, Shusha will be restored and will have its former appearance," Amreyev said.