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

Senior Azerbaijani officials have renewed calls for the return of so-called “Western Azerbaijanis” to present-day Armenia, describing it as a matter of historical justice and human rights, while Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has firmly rejected suggestions that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis could be settled in the country.

Speaking at the third “Return to Western Azerbaijan” Congress-Festival in Ordubad, Azerbaijan’s parliamentary deputy speaker Ziyafat Asgarov dismissed concerns that the initiative amounts to a territorial claim against Armenia.

“This is an absolutely unfounded approach. We only want to return to our native lands peacefully, in accordance with international law, and live there safely and with dignity,” Asgarov said.

He described the return of Western Azerbaijanis as a key priority of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy and argued that those who left Armenia have a legal, historical and moral right to return.

“Every Western Azerbaijani has the right to return to the lands of their ancestors. This is their legal, historical and moral right because these lands belonged to our forefathers,” he added.

Similar remarks were made by Aziz Alekberli, head of the Western Azerbaijan Community and a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament. He stated that Armenia should create conditions for the “safe, dignified and peaceful return” of Western Azerbaijanis.

“The new realities that have emerged in the region demonstrate the inevitability of the return of Western Azerbaijanis to their native lands. Armenia must accept this reality and create conditions for their safe, dignified and peaceful return,” Alekberli said.

The statements come just one day after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan used a parliamentary question-and-answer session to reject claims regarding the return of 300,000 Azerbaijanis to Armenia.

“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,” Pashinyan told lawmakers.

The Armenian leader argued that such narratives are being artificially kept in public discourse and insisted that Armenia’s peace agenda has closed the door on similar proposals.

The latest comments also come days after a meeting in Dilijan between Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and Hikmet Hajiyev, a senior foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Pashinyan had described Hajiyev’s visit to Armenia as further evidence that the peace process between the two countries continues to develop through institutional channels.

However, the renewed rhetoric from Azerbaijani officials is likely to fuel concerns in Armenia, where many view references to Armenia as “Western Azerbaijan” as incompatible with efforts to normalize relations and establish lasting peace in the South Caucasus.

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