Aliyev renews demands for Azerbaijani “return” to Armenia

(Horizons Weekly) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, whose government carried out the depopulation of Artsakh and has overseen the erasure of Armenian cultural heritage from Nakhichevan to Baku, is now urging the international community to validate what he describes as the “forcible expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia” and to endorse their “right to return.”

Addressing a conference in Baku titled “Cultural Heritage and the Right of Return,” Aliyev pressed international organizations, including United Nations agencies, to investigate what he labels as “crimes against humanity” supposedly committed by Armenia. He called on these bodies to support what he portrays as the organized repatriation of Azerbaijanis to the Republic of Armenia as well as the “restoration” of their cultural sites.

Aliyev insisted that international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, obligates Armenia to accommodate such a return and to enable what he termed the revival of the “spiritual and historical identity” of these communities. He framed this as a justified and overdue expectation of the Azerbaijani public.

He once again elevated the so-called “Western Azerbaijan Community”- a state-sponsored group advancing claims to Armenian territory – portraying it as a responsible and moderate actor.

This narrative is consistent with Aliyev’s earlier statements denying Armenian historical presence altogether, including his assertion that “Lake Sevan does not exist” and is properly called “Goycha,” and his repeated claims that Azerbaijanis will eventually resettle in Armenia “not with tanks, but with cars,” presenting the prospect of demographic expansion into Armenia as inevitable.