Azerbaijani community appeals to US VP Vance ahead of his Baku visit Urges support for Western Azerbaijanis’ return

The Western Azerbaijan Community has issued a formal statement addressed to U.S. Vice President James David Vance in connection with his upcoming visit to Azerbaijan.

The statement, submitted to AZERTAC by the Community, addresses the U.S. Vice President as follows:

“Distinguished Mr. Vance,

We have learned through the media of your forthcoming visit to Azerbaijan and warmly welcome you to the ‘Land of Fire.’ Azerbaijan is a nation of peace, where Muslims, Christians, and Jews have historically coexisted in harmony and tranquility. Our country places profound value on family, moral, and traditional principles.

Azerbaijan’s relations with the Christian world and the Holy See continue to develop successfully, marked by numerous high-level visits to the Vatican in recent years. Furthermore, last year saw the opening of the Baku office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and plans are underway for the construction of a second Catholic church in our capital.

Tragically, due to the criminal negligence of the former Soviet leadership, Western Azerbaijanis were subjected to mass deportation from Armenia beginning in 1987. Their villages and homelands were emptied, burned, and looted; their mosques and cultural heritage were systematically destroyed. Our cultural legacy has been misappropriated and our history falsified—most notably in Yerevan, where the identity and purpose of the Azerbaijani Blue Mosque were altered.

While Western Azerbaijanis have successfully integrated into Azerbaijani society over these decades, they have never forgotten their ancestral lands in Armenia and have lived with the enduring hope of return.

Western Azerbaijanis harbor no territorial claims against Armenia and do not oppose its sovereignty. On the contrary, we fully support the policy of President Ilham Aliyev to achieve sustainable peace, as well as the Azerbaijan-Armenia reconciliation process advancing with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump.

We applaud the historic Washington Summit held on August 8, 2025, the Joint Declaration signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the United States, and the initialing of the peace treaty. We further support the progress made since that summit, including confidence-building measures and the commencement of trade relations between the two nations. We also look forward to the swift realization of the 'Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity' (TRIPP).

Distinguished Mr. Vance,

The achievements reached recently, in large part thanks to your administration, inspire confidence in us that after a long period of longing, Western Azerbaijanis will return to their ancestral homes in Armenia. They will restore their destroyed hearths, visit their cemeteries once again, and rebuild their mosques. To achieve this, we require the support of all progressive humanity, and most specifically, the United States.

We believe that your visit to the region will significantly contribute to the normalization of relations between the two states and peoples, the strengthening of economic and trade ties, and the restoration of vital transportation links.”