In the midst of political turmoil in Azerbaijan, Yaqub Mammadov, then the rector of Azerbaijan Medical University, was elected the Chairman of
Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan on 5 March during the extraordinary session of the parliament related to the
Khojaly massacre of Azerbaijani civilians in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan after the speaker of the parliament,
Elmira Gafarova resigned from her post. On 6 March, President
Ayaz Mutallibov was forced to resign and according to the Azerbaijani constitution of the period, speaker of the parliament, Yagub Mammadov assumed the presidential duties until the new elections. While acting as the
President of Azerbaijan, Mammadov met with then Armenian president
Levon Ter-Petrosyan in
Tehran in an effort to start peace talks mediated by
Iran. On 8 May, when the
Tehran Communiqué between Ter-Petrosian and Mammadov was signed, Armenian forces captured
Shusha. In his interviews, Mammadov always refused to assume any responsibility for the loss of Shusha. On 14 May, the former President Mutalibov returned to power after the parliament absolved him of the responsibility for the Khojaly Massacre but was ousted by the armed revolt led by
Azerbaijan Popular Front on 15 May. Yaqub Mammadov resigned as Speaker of the Parliament on 18 May 1992 and was then replaced by
Isa Gambar. ==References==