Baku, December 5, AZERTAC

The opening ceremony of the second international conference “The right to return: Advancing Justice for Azerbaijanis Expelled from Armenia” was held on Thursday in Baku.

A short film highlighting the Western Azerbaijan Community was screened during the opening of the conference.

Adalat Valiyev, Head of the Presidential Administration`s Department for Relations with Political Parties and Legislative Authority read out the letter of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the conference participants.

Later, based on a decree by President Ilham Aliyev, a group of individuals who excelled in promoting the truths of Western Azerbaijan were awarded.

Addressing the conference, Aziz Alakbarli, Chairman of the Board of the Western Azerbaijan Community, Head of the Initiative Group for Return to Western Azerbaijan, emphasized that the event serves as an important platform to draw the international community's attention to the forced expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, the damage to their historical and cultural heritage, the securing of their right to return, and discussions on peace and reconciliation based on justice.

Speaking at the conference, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, former foreign minister of Türkiye, head of the delegation of the Turkish Grand National Assembly to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly underlined that Armenia should respond positively to Azerbaijan's goodwill intentions for lasting peace in the region.

“We could turn the South Caucasus into the region of peace. Everyone should understand that it is futile to purchase weapons and conduct repeated drills, and covet the lands of neighboring states. After 30 years of injustice, we know that establishing lasting peace will be difficult. However, as Türkiye, we will continue to do everything in our power to foster peace in the region As Türkiye, we have always stood by Azerbaijan. We stand by Azerbaijan not only because it is our brother, but also because it is right," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu emphasized.

After the speeches, honorary membership certificates of the Western Azerbaijan Community were presented. The certificates were given to 16 individuals representing 10 countries.

The event continued with panel discussions.

The conference organized by the Western Azerbaijan Community brought together more than 100 delegates from 51 countries and will last for two days.