Turkey and Azerbaijan Open Airport in Occupied Artsakh, Cementing the Erasure of Armenian History on Land Soaked in Blood—From Genocide to Occupation, the Pattern Continues

On May 28, 2025, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev officially opened the new Lachin International Airport in occupied Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The opening, heavily promoted by both Turkish and Azerbaijani state media, took place just ahead of Azerbaijan’s Independence Day and a Turkey-Azerbaijan-Pakistan summit.

But for Armenians across the world, this event is not a sign of peace or international cooperation. Instead, it is another painful reminder of the 2020 war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Azerbaijan’s ongoing occupation of Armenian territories, and the cultural and human cost of military aggression backed by powerful regional allies.

The newly constructed Lachin International Airport stands in what was historically Armenian territory for centuries. Lachin is not just another district—it was the vital land bridge connecting the Republic of Armenia to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), a region inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians for generations. Lachin’s corridor was the only road linking the two Armenian-populated regions until the 2020 war, when Azerbaijani forces seized control of the surrounding areas with the help of Turkish military technology, Syrian mercenaries, and drones.

Lachin was part of the Soviet Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast’s security perimeter, and after the first Karabakh war in the 1990s, it came under Armenian control. The road connecting Stepanakert (capital of Artsakh) to Goris (in Armenia proper) passed through this corridor and served as a lifeline for over 120,000 Armenians living in the region.

While Erdogan and Aliyev posed for photos and exchanged symbolic keys at the new airport, Armenian voices across the globe saw the scene as a public relations stunt—and one with a dangerous agenda.

The airport is not merely a transportation hub. Its construction in Lachin, just a short drive from the Armenian border, signals Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s continued efforts to consolidate control over lands seized during the brutal 2020 war. It’s the third airport Azerbaijan has built in territories taken from Armenians—after similar projects in Fuzuli (Armenian: Varanda) and Zangilan (Armenian: Kovsakan).

It is no coincidence that Erdogan is there. Turkish support played a decisive role in Azerbaijan’s military victory during the 44-day war. The Turkish Bayraktar drones, military advisors, and open political backing helped tip the scales. Since then, Erdogan has visited Shushi and other areas now under Azerbaijani control, and Turkish companies have been heavily involved in reconstruction—often erasing Armenian traces and heritage in the process.

Reports from human rights groups, satellite images, and video evidence confirm that many Armenian churches, cemeteries, and cultural landmarks in territories now controlled by Azerbaijan have been destroyed or modified. In Shushi, one of Artsakh’s cultural capitals, the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral—damaged during the war—has been altered under the guise of “restoration,” erasing Armenian architectural elements.

Building an airport in Lachin is not just about travel—it’s about rewriting history, replacing Armenian heritage with a narrative controlled by Baku and Ankara.

This is not the first time Armenians have faced territorial erasure. The Armenian Genocide of 1915 saw the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. Most survivors fled or were forced into exile, scattering Armenian communities around the world. What’s happening in Artsakh now—under the watch of the international community—is viewed by many as a continuation of this history, not just a geopolitical dispute.

In 2023, after a 9-month blockade, Azerbaijan launched a full military assault on the remaining parts of Artsakh. Within days, nearly the entire Armenian population—over 100,000 people—was forced to flee. Ethnic cleansing on a mass scale happened again, with little consequence for those responsible. Today, the once-bustling towns of Stepanakert, Martakert, and Hadrut are empty or repopulated with Azerbaijani settlers.

As Azerbaijan and Turkey continue to build on what they call “liberated lands,” Armenians are working harder than ever to preserve their history, raise global awareness, and fight for justice.

The Armenian diaspora has protested these developments, launched legal appeals through international human rights courts, and pushed U.S. and European lawmakers to impose consequences on Baku for its human rights violations.

But the battle is uphill. Oil wealth and military alliances make Azerbaijan a powerful player in the region. Turkey’s support only strengthens its position. Meanwhile, Armenia itself is politically fragile, recovering from war, internal division, and isolation.

The Lachin International Airport may be described by Azerbaijan as a modern engineering achievement and a boost for regional tourism and trade. But for Armenians, it is a glaring symbol of occupation, cultural destruction, and a humanitarian crisis that remains unresolved.

The world saw a ribbon being cut. Armenians saw the bulldozers of occupation paving over the graves of their ancestors, erasing their existence in real time while the world looked away.

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