Western Azerbaijan: from toponym to reality Caliber.Az afterword to the President's speech

On December 24, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev viewed the conditions created in the administrative building of the Community of West Azerbaijan as well as met with a group of intellectuals from West Azerbaijan.

It is worth noting that two important points define the remarkable character of this meeting. Firstly, it demonstrated that the problems of our compatriots deported from their ancestral territories, where the Republic of Armenia is located today, have always been and remain in the limelight of the state's attention. Secondly, this event in fact brought the term "Western Azerbaijan" to a new defining level, corresponding to the status of a state, which in turn gives this meeting, historical and political significance.

Addressing the natives of West Azerbaijan, President Aliyev confidently highlighted the key points in the realities of our country's historical past and stressed the inadmissibility of distorting the existing facts. In this context, the President condemned the transfer of Irevan to Armenia back in 1918, recalling the stages of deportation of Azerbaijanis.

"If someone thought that by giving Irevan to Armenia in 1918, we could insure ourselves from bigger disasters, then giving Zangazur to Armenia once again proves that it was a very wrong and false step, and as I have already said, it was a betrayal. You should never retreat even to those who are stronger. One should always defend his rights, especially the native land," the President said.

Ilham Aliyev's words should not be regarded as a loud call but as a statement of the fait accompli. On the one hand, the President reminded of the inadmissibility of ceding Azerbaijani territories to Armenia, and on the other hand, that the victory in the Karabakh war in 2020 is the clearest example of the need to always protect your rights and native land.

In this context, it is not difficult to guess that it is no coincidence that the head of state spoke at some length about Western Azerbaijan. This is a message to the world community regarding the rights of Azerbaijanis to live in Western Azerbaijan.

"The West Azerbaijanis are a community that has been illegally deported many times. Their rights must be restored and they must return to their native lands. Speaking about this, I assume that there will be another hysteria in Armenia, saying that Azerbaijan has come, occupied us, and so on. No. We want to do this in a peaceful way. We want to ensure our rights through peaceful means. Once again I want to say that all conventions recognize this right. So we must be more active, including at international platforms, to achieve this," Aliyev said.

As we can see, the head of the Azerbaijani state stated to the international community that Baku would achieve its goal only peacefully, no matter how this step is distorted in neighboring Armenia.

President Aliyev also paid attention to the factor of occupation of Karabakh and East Zangazur and called it another tragedy of the Azerbaijani people. He noted that the information about the devastation committed by Armenians in West Azerbaijan must be delivered to the world community and assigned this mission to the community of West Azerbaijan, assuring the support of the Azerbaijani state.

Speaking about the important events of the passing year, the President drew attention to the military operation on the notional Azerbaijani-Armenian border, stressing that as a result, historic Azerbaijani cities are already within visual range.

"Today we are already on the shores of Bala Goycha. Today we can see Goycha Lake without binoculars. First of all, I think this is fair. Secondly, the September clashes will insure us against major problems in the future. As revanchist forces in Armenia, both in government and in opposition, are raising their heads, it is virtually the same thing for us. Even the mountains of Nakhchivan can be seen from the heights we are at today. So it is really a historic achievement. Liberation of Karabakh, East Zangazur on the battlefield is a historical event, which will forever remain in the history of Azerbaijan", Ilham Aliyev continued, not ignoring the events taking place today on the Lachin road, which caused another anti-Azerbaijani hysteria.

However, given the biased attitude towards Azerbaijan from certain states - supporters of the Armenian destructive policies, such a one-sided approach by these countries to the peaceful operation of Azerbaijani activists on the Lachin road was not a big surprise to Baku. The reality is that, as President Aliyev noted, "It is our legitimate right. Our natural resources are exploited, our natural resources are exported. And this illegal activity must be stopped, according to Azerbaijan's legitimate demand".

At the same time, Aliyev believes that in the matter of promoting national interests, the Community of West Azerbaijan should function in a more organised way, not only domestically, but also internationally.

"We must bring these truths to the attention of the world community, just as we brought the truth about Karabakh to light. In fact, we have succeeded in completely changing the distorted view of the Karabakh conflict in the early 1990s. The information war and the Second Karabakh War showed that this is significant," said President Aliyev.

And it is impossible not to agree with this because the world has learned about the essence of the Karabakh conflict thanks to the information campaign, which was carried out by Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis not only during the occupation, during the Second Karabakh War, but also continues in the post-conflict period. And here it is particularly worth noting the personal contribution of the President, and his active involvement in providing real information in interviews with numerous foreign media outlets.

Summing up the president's speech, it can be assumed that Baku intends to launch a new phase of the peace agenda dedicated to West Azerbaijan, which requires enormous work, including in the information and awareness-raising field. In particular, it is necessary to publish books and hold international conferences in the legal field. This is particularly necessary today in order to draw a line under all crimes, including from the deportation of Azerbaijanis from the territory of present-day Armenia to the crimes of the Soviet authorities against our people, which President Aliyev has given a competent political assessment.

However, it should be noted that these are not threats from Baku at all, but a clear vision of further state strategy, with real steps and actions behind it.

The world is already convinced that Baku is committed to its basic principles and its decades-long policy. As a result of this policy, not only Armenia but also the supporting states have been convinced of the determination and political will of the Azerbaijani state. Azerbaijan has already accomplished the minimum program, changing the previous political balance of power in the region, and returning most of the occupied territories. And if today Baku sets for itself a maximum task, which implies the return of the indigenous population to the lands of Western Azerbaijan, then there is no doubt that this goal will be successfully achieved as well. President Aliyev's messages are a warning that Armenia's anti-Azerbaijani policy will not go unpunished. As they say, it was time for the Armenian authorities to hear and accept all of Baku's messages yesterday so that they do not find themselves in a bad light tomorrow by backtracking.