Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who orchestrated the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh and the systematic destruction of Armenian heritage in cities like Baku, has called for the international community to acknowledge the alleged “deportation of Azerbaijanis by Armenians” and to support their “return to Armenia.”
Speaking at the “Cultural Heritage and the Right of Return” conference held in Baku, Aliyev appealed to international institutions, including relevant United Nations bodies, to assess what he called “crimes against humanity,” and to aid in “the peaceful return of Azerbaijanis and restoration of their cultural heritage,” as reported by Minval.az .
He argued that the right of return is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, among other international conventions, and should be fulfilled not only through physical return but also through the restoration of “spiritual, cultural, and historical identity.”
Aliyev described this as “a legitimate demand of the Azerbaijani people.”
He also praised the so-called “Western Azerbaijan Community,” a group claiming to represent “displaced Azerbaijanis,” for its “constructive and balanced approach.”
Aliyev had previously claimed that “Lake Sevan doesn’t exist because it is called Lake Goycha,” and that the “return of Azerbaijanis to their historical lands within present-day Armenia should not frighten the Armenian people,” asserting they “will return not by tanks, but by cars.”
