Cavusoglu visits Community, reaffirms Türkiye’s support for Azerbaijan’s right of return

Former Turkish Foreign Minister and Head of the Delegation of the Turkish Grand National Assembly to the NATO PA, Mevlut Cavusoglu, visited the Western Azerbaijan Community on December 4, during his stay in Azerbaijan for the international conference on "Right of Return: Ensuring Justice for Azerbaijanis Forced to Leave Armenia."

Azernews reports that, during the meeting, the Chairman of the Board of the Western Azerbaijan Community, Aziz Alakbarli, highlighted the political and moral support provided by Türkiye to Azerbaijan during the Patriotic War. Alakbarli discussed the establishment and goals of the community, which aims to raise awareness of the rights of Azerbaijanis who were expelled from their ancestral lands in Armenia.

He stated, "During the last deportation, about 300,000 Azerbaijanis from about 300 settlements were expelled from their native lands by Armenia. At that time, only Azerbaijanis lived in 172 villages, and there was not a single Armenian there."

Emphasizing the importance of the peaceful, safe, and dignified return of these displaced individuals, Alakbarli noted that "the return to their native lands is the fundamental human right of Western Azerbaijanis and these rights must be ensured. Creating conditions for their return is the obligation of the Armenian state."

Mevlut Cavusoglu reaffirmed Türkiye's unwavering support for Azerbaijan, noting that "Türkiye has always stood by Azerbaijan." He pointed out the development of territories liberated after the Second Karabakh War under President Ilham Aliyev's leadership, stating, "Former internally displaced persons have also begun to return to their native lands."

Cavusoglu praised Azerbaijan’s peaceful policies and its adherence to international law regarding the return of refugees. He stressed that "the whole world is witnessing Azerbaijan's sincere behaviour towards Armenia," adding that Armenia had destroyed Azerbaijani material and cultural heritage during its occupation. He emphasized, "As Türkiye, our position is that our Azerbaijani brothers must return to their historical lands."

Ramil Hasan, Deputy Chairman of the Community, expressed that Cavusoglu's visit provided vital moral support to Western Azerbaijanis, stating, "People who were forcibly expelled from Armenia want to return to their ancestral lands and live there as they have for millennia."

Gaya Mammadov, a member of the Western Azerbaijan Community and Milli Majlis deputy, stressed that the issue is a human rights cause. "The Western Azerbaijan Community has addressed letters and appeals to the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and to international actors, demanding the peaceful return of our compatriots," Mammadov said, noting that Armenia has yet to respond to the calls for dialogue. He also condemned the racist policies in Armenia, calling them unacceptable.