Azerbaijan Calls for Return of “Western Azerbaijanis” to Armenia Amid Ongoing Peace Process

Senior Azerbaijani officials at a “Return to Western Azerbaijan” congress-festival in Ordubad, Nakhichevan, demanded that Azerbaijanis displaced from Armenia be allowed to resettle there. Deputy parliamentary speaker Ziyafat Asgarov called the demand a legal, historical and moral right. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dismissed it as a fabricated claim that does not exist.

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm RejectionBaku Renews Demands For ‘Return Of Western Azeris’

The term “Western Azerbaijanis” denotes Azerbaijanis who left Armenia during the Soviet era and after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. In August 2023, President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan signed a Washington peace treaty hailed as a normalisation step. The issue resurfaced when Aliyev’s adviser Hikmet Hajiyev met Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan in Armenia.

Baku Renews Demands For ‘Return Of Western Azeris’Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

• Aug 2023 – Washington peace treaty signed.

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

• Jun 2024 – Hajiyev meets Grigoryan in Dilijan.

Baku Renews Demands For ‘Return Of Western Azeris’

• Jul 2024 – “Return to Western Azerbaijan” festival in Ordubad; Azerbaijani officials issue repatriation demands; Pashinyan rejects them.

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

Azerbaijani speakers included Deputy Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov, MP Aziz Alekberli (Western Azerbaijan Community head), Education Minister Emin Amrulayev, President Ilham Aliyev and adviser Hikmet Hajiyev. Armenian participants were Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan.

Baku Renews Demands For ‘Return Of Western Azeris’

Azerbaijani statements cite “hundreds of thousands” of displaced persons and specifically mention 300,000 Azerbaijanis who could return to Armenia; Armenian officials have offered no counter-numeric data.

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

Asgarov described repatriation as a legal, historical and moral right and urged Armenia to provide safe, dignified conditions. Alekberli said the return is inevitable under new regional realities. Aliyev called the issue strategically important for Baku. Pashinyan labeled the 300,000-person claim invented and warned it endangers the peace agenda.

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

Armenian opposition parties argue the rhetoric undermines the peace process, mocks Pashinyan’s peace claims, and could be used to pressure Armenia into constitutional concessions demanded by Baku.

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

Azerbaijani officials treat the 300,000-person claim as a legal entitlement; Pashinyan insists the issue does not exist. No independent verification of the displaced Azerbaijani population is available.

Baku Renews Demands For ‘Return Of Western Azeris’

• “Every Western Azerbaijani has the right to return to the lands of their ancestors.” — Ziyafat Asgarov, Deputy Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Parliament

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

• “I said it during the election campaign, and I reaffirm it now: the issue of the return of 300,000 Azerbaijanis is an invented and fabricated topic. It has not happened, does not exist, and will not happen,” — Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

• “Armenia must accept this reality and create conditions for their safe, dignified and peaceful return,” Alekberli said.” — Aziz Alekberli, Head of the Western Azerbaijan Community, MP

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection

• “He said “the topic of Western Azerbaijan” is of strategic importance to Baku.” — Emin Amrulayev, Azerbaijani Education Minister

Baku Renews Demands For ‘Return Of Western Azeris’

The repatriation rhetoric threatens the peace process, as Armenia sees it as incompatible with normalisation. Observers warn that any escalation could dominate upcoming bilateral talks on border security, refugee returns and constitutional reforms.

Azerbaijani Officials Renew Calls for Return of ‘Western Azerbaijanis’ to Armenia Despite Pashinyan’s Firm Rejection