President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Thursday said that Armenia is undermining the peace process and demanded that official Yerevan engage in dialogue with so-called “Western Azerbaijanis” in order to ensure their “right to return” to what he called historic Azerbaijani lands that are actually part of Armenia.
This was the latest demand from the Azerbaijani leader, who in the past has said that his signature on a peace treaty with Armenia hinges on amendments to Armenia’s Constitution, which he said contains territorial demands from Azerbaijan.
The Western Azerbaijan Community has repeatedly called on the Armenian government to engage in dialogue, but the opposing side has always turned down these initiatives, Aliyev said in a written message to the participant of an anti-Armenian government-sponsored conference entitled “The Right to Return: Advancing Justice for Azerbaijanis Expelled from Armenia.”
“Armenia has to embark on negotiations with the Community and take tangible steps to restore the fundamental rights of Western Azerbaijanis. In addition, Armenia has to allow a UNESCO fact-finding mission to monitor the situation regarding the destruction and distortion of the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people and be open to cooperation in this area,” Aliyev said.
“It is extremely important that the international community should support the peaceful initiatives of members of the Western Azerbaijan Community in accordance with international law to ensure their right of return to their native lands. Initiatives based on the successful implementation of the Concept of Return will make a great contribution to the peaceful, safe and dignified return of Western Azerbaijanis to their native lands,” the Azerbaijani leader added.
Aliyev also claimed that what he called “deep-rooted hatred towards our people in Armenian society,” as well as the myths of a “greater Armenia,” the territorial claims against Azerbaijan still embedded in the Armenian constitution, and Armenia’s recent military acquisitions are hindering a lasting peace between the two countries.
“Armenia is trying to deliberately portray the activities of the Western Azerbaijan Community as a threat to its territorial integrity. However, the goal of this community is to facilitate a peaceful, safe and dignified return of our compatriots displaced from Western Azerbaijan to their ancestral lands. This is a purely human rights issue. The fact that Armenia labels the community’s activities as a threat represents an attempt to distort the true essence of the issue and deny the right of return enshrined in international law,” Aliyev said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan drew strong condemnation from historians, opposition leaders and other critics after saying that Armenians should stop using the term “Western Armenia” to describe historic Armenian lands lost as a result of the Armenian Genocide.
“We get so upset by … the fact that some people in some places use the term ‘Western Azerbaijan,’” Pashinyan said during an interview with Armenia’s Public Television last week. “But when we say ‘Western Armenia,’ don’t we think that it irritates some people? Just like they irritate us by saying ‘Western Azerbaijan’ we irritate others by saying ‘Western Armenia.’”
“The Patriotic War, which culminated in Azerbaijan’s glorious victory in 2020, created the opportunity for our compatriots expelled from Karabakh and East Zangezur to return to their homeland. Azerbaijan’s war of justice stands as a triumph of the rule of international law and an enormous contribution to the solution of the problem of forced displacement on a global scale. The implementation of the “State Program on the Great Return” is progressing successfully in the liberated territories,” Aliyev said.
The Geghart Foundation condemned the conference, saying that the event was attended by representatives from over 25 diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan and more than 100 participants from various countries, including Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and France.
