Baku slams Swiss National Council's proposal to hold forum on Armenians' return to Karabakh Pro-Armenian MPs ignore rights of expelled Azerbaijanis

The Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan has expressed regret over the Swiss National Council's discussion on December 17 regarding a proposal to organize an international peace forum addressing the non-existent "Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

The proposal also included a call for the Swiss government to host such a conference aimed at facilitating the return of Armenians who voluntarily left the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

In its statement, the Parliament emphasized that Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, a fact reaffirmed by international law and United Nations resolutions.

The statement criticized pro-Armenian members of the Swiss National Council for disregarding the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis forcibly expelled from Armenia in the 1980s and for turning a blind eye to the destruction of Azerbaijani cultural heritage.

The Milli Majlis highlighted that the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan is being pursued through bilateral negotiations, where significant progress has already been made.

The legislative body also commended the Swiss government's objective response to the proposal, noting that the government rejected the initiative. "By doing so, the Swiss government reaffirmed its commitment to the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty of states," the statement underscored.

Moreover, the Parliament called on the international community to respect the territorial integrity of nations and to refrain from actions and initiatives that could hinder the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

To note, in recent years, the issue of the return of these displaced Azerbaijanis has gained prominence. Azerbaijan has advocated for the right of return for these individuals and their descendants, emphasizing their ancestral ties to the region. President Ilham Aliyev has expressed optimism about the return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands in modern-day Armenia, drawing parallels to the successful resettlement of Azerbaijanis to Karabakh and East Zangezur regions. He stated that the next generations of Western Azerbaijanis, who have not seen those lands, are living with a dream for the Motherland.

In support of this initiative, the Western Azerbaijan Community has developed a "Concept of Return," asserting that all Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of present-day Armenia and their descendants have the right to return to their homeland. The community aims to create conditions for their return and ensure their individual and collective rights upon return.

The term "Western Azerbaijan" refers to territories within present-day Armenia that were historically inhabited by Azerbaijanis. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and subsequent conflicts, many Azerbaijanis were displaced from these areas.

By Khagan Isayev