Western Azerbaijan Community comments on biased statement of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry

The West Azerbaijani community has responded to a biased statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

According to Azertag, the community notes that the Armenian Foreign Ministry is attempting to distort President Ilham Aliyev's speech at the Organisation of Turkic States on March 16 and to question the right of West Azerbaijanis to return to their homes in a peaceful, dignified, and safe manner.

"First of all, we thank President Ilham Aliyev for his political support for the return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Western Azerbaijan and for raising this issue from a respected international platform," the Community said in a statement.

“As for the term of Western Azerbaijan objected to by the Armenian government, we would like to note the following. Taking into the fact that Azerbaijanis were the majority in that region until recently and that more than 95 per cent of the toponyms and hydronyms there recorded until recent times are of Azerbaijani origin, the use of this expression is well justified. In particular, given the fact that all Azerbaijanis, the lawful inhabitants of that area, were forced out of their homes through ethnic cleansing, it is the duty of all mankind to use this term as a way of rejecting that crime against humanity,” said the statement.

In the Concept of the Return of the Community, the Republic of Armenia established in that area is regarded as the legal and political reality, and the approach based on reconciliation and reintegration is taken as the basis, the Community stressed.

“As we also mentioned in our letter to the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, our demands for the peaceful return to our homes should not be misinterpreted or mispresented as being detrimental to the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Armenia. In this case, the Government of Armenia had better explain using expressions such as 'Artsakh government', 'Artsakh people', 'Artsakh army',” it noted.

“Finally, we once again call on the Government of Armenia to create conditions for the peaceful, safe, and dignified return of expelled Azerbaijanis, who are lawful inhabitants of that territory, within the framework of a legally binding international agreement with verification and guarantee mechanisms, and to respond to our dialogue request for this,” the Community added.