Baku, January 8, AZERTAC

The Western Azerbaijan Community has issued a statement regarding the remarks made by President Ilham Aliyev on Western Azerbaijanis during his interview with the local TV channels.

AZERTAC presents the statement:

“We, the Western Azerbaijan Community, express gratitude to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for his support for the peaceful, safe, and dignified return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands during his interview with local television channels on January 7, 2025. We also fully support President Ilham Aliyev’s vision for regional peace and security.

The ideology of racial discrimination and radical nationalism, which dominates Armenia's political circles, poses the greatest threat to human rights and peace. Recently circulated footage of a 1993 speech by Armenia's first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, where he praised "the complete cleansing of Armenia and Karabakh from other nations" as a historical achievement, along with the racist remarks by Armenia's second president, Robert Kocharyan, who stated from the rostrum of an international organization that "Azerbaijanis and Armenians are ethnically incompatible," and Armenia's third president Serzh Sargsyan's and his party’s drawing inspiration from the racist ideology of "Tseghakronism" rooted in the fascist Garegin Nzhdeh, all reflect the essence of this state.

We share President Ilham Aliyev's concerns about Armenia's policy of large-scale militarization and support his demand for the official Armenia to cease its armament activities. Armenia, a country with an aggressive past, dominated by racist and revisionist ideologies, is incapable of responsibly handling military power, and its arming efforts are inadmissible.

The policy of Armenia, grounded in the complete denial of the historical injustice committed against Western Azerbaijanis, has no prospects.

We demand that the Armenian government apologize for the deportation of Western Azerbaijanis, engage in dialogue with the Western Azerbaijan Community, establish conditions for their return, put an end to the destruction and distortion of Azerbaijani cultural heritage, cease the armament process, and open communication channels in line with their international obligations,” the Community added.