Azerbaijan to relocate thousands of residents to Lachin by late 2023

By the end of 2023, thousands of local residents will be resettled in the Lachin district, Special Representative of the Azerbaijani president in the district Masim Mammadov said.

"The resettlement process in Zabukh has been very successful. President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva met with these families, a very interesting meeting was held,” he said, APA reports.

"I hope that the Sus village project will be as successful. I think resettlement there will be possible by the beginning of next year. By the end of this year, we will see thousands of local residents in Lachin. Likewise, we will ensure two to three resettlement processes per month by the end of the year," he added.

Mammadov also underlined that a territory has been allocated for the construction of a mosque in Lachin.

"Design works are being finalised, they are being carried out by a local company. I hope that soon the design will be finalised and construction works will start. As for the destroyed monument in Lachin, I would like to say that the Ministry of Culture has submitted a project and I hope it will be approved and realised in the near future," Mammadov added.

The Azerbaijani army took full control of Lachin city along with the adjacent Zabukh and Sus villages on August 25, 2022.

Earlier, Lachin City was temporarily controlled by the Russian peacekeepers to provide communication between Armenia and the Garabagh region. Under the November 10, 2020, trilateral statement, signed by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders, the city should be handed over to Azerbaijan after the completion of a new road, which would be an alternative to the Lachin road.

Following the completion of the new road bypassing Lachin, Azerbaijan demanded that Armenia clear the unlawfully occupied city and adjacent settlements by August 25, 2022.