June: 23, 2026
20 days ago, Aliyev did not close the door to the return of “West Azerbaijanis”. A “legal-political”, “historical” base is being created against Armenia, the amount of compensation is determined with the text article: published, after which there were a number of episodes confirming our claim.
First, on June 18-19, the conference-festival “Return to Western Azerbaijan” was held in Ordubad, Nakhichevan, the organizers of which were the plenipotentiary representative of the President of Azerbaijan in Nakhichevan, the Ministry of Education and Science, Nakhichevan State University and the “Western Azerbaijan” community. Of course, we have already informed about this in the above mentioned article.
And within the framework of the mentioned conference, the leader of the “West Azerbaijan Community”, MP Aziz Alekberli stated that Armenia should create conditions for the safe return of “West Azerbaijanis”.
Second, we learned from the Azerbaijani media that it is a documentary film by a Swedish director պատվիրվել՝ dedicated to “the cultural heritage of Western Azerbaijan, The Homeland in Memory, which has already begun to be presented to the Azerbaijani public.
Third, in the “Khan Yurdu” ethno-community of Yeni Zod village of Gyolgyol region of Azerbaijan, the “Heritage of Western Azerbaijan: under the title “return to historical roots”. the festival in the Azerbaijani materials about which you can see the map of Armenia, our song and music, Armenian lavash, etc. Moreover, Yerevan is called “Irevan” in those materials.
No detail was chosen just like that, there is a clear political message-demand in everything, including the location of the festival was not chosen just like that. Let’s explain. Yeni Zod village, which is part of Gyolgyol region (formerly Khanlar) of Azerbaijan, was formerly called Azat when it was Armenian-populated (Northern Artsakh). According to Azeri sources, mostly Azerbaijanis from Gegharkunik marz of RA live here, and it is no coincidence that Yeni Zod or Sotk call the village that once bore the name Azat. Moreover, there is also a “suggestion” as to why they resettled in this village and organized a festival dedicated to “Western Azerbaijan”.
So, in 2025, the authorities of Azerbaijan decision decided that in 2026-2027 there will be events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Ashugh Alesker’s death, including in the framework of UNESCO, and according to Azerbaijani claims, he was born in the Azat village of the Gegharkunik region of the RA, which Azerbaijan calls Aghkilisa. And in 2024, when the monument to their struggle was opened in Baku, the President of Azerbaijan Aliyev in his speech, in particular, had stressed that one day they will celebrate a “great return” also in the case of the “West Azerbaijanis”, as it happened in the case of those who left Karabakh.
“I am sure that we will see the same picture when we return to “Western Azerbaijan”. Even during the occupation, in some of my speeches, I expressed thoughts related to “Western Azerbaijan”. We should always set goals, both strategic and tactical, both short-term and long-term. But if the goals are chosen incorrectly, no result will be achieved. Goals should reflect both truth and justice, as well as the real situation, our real strength.
Our cause is just, and the Azerbaijani people support our cause. Basically, this is the work of the Azerbaijani people. Today, the erection of a monument to an outstanding representative of “Western Azerbaijanis” is, of course, first of all a sign of the Azerbaijani people’s respect for Ashugh Alesker’s memory, but at the same time, this monument is an event that calls all “Western Azerbaijanis” and the entire Azerbaijani people to unite again for a single goal.
We are eagerly waiting for that day, we believe. I believe and you believe. There will come a day when we will restore the monument of Ashugh Alesker, destroyed by Armenians, and hold a similar ceremony in the village of Aghkilsa (in Azat village of Gegharkunik marz, RA. – MP)” Aliyev promised in September 2024. In other words, what they see today are strategic-tactical steps stemming from the “Western Azerbaijan” state political program.
We are not at all spreading Azeri theses, that is why we approached the wording “300,000 Azerbaijanis” with reservations, because there were not so many Azerbaijanis living in Armenia, as has been said many times. we wrote but we cannot fail to record the obvious facts, the consistency of Aliyev in this matter, who, in fact, is waiting for the right time to act, as he did on September 27, 2020.
We cannot fail to notice that the former soldier of Azerbaijan, who today is a military expert, considers Dilijan as theirs and notes that Aliyev’s assistant Hikmet Hajiyev set foot there with the right of the owner.
We repeat: there is no mirror solution here, no matter how much Nikol Pashinyan tries to create such an impression. After all, he does not finance and sponsor any return program, which Aliyev does, so the claims of mirroring are not serious.
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Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Chalian Meline. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2026/06/24/baku-once-held-a-festival-in-artsakhs-azat-village-and-2-years-ago-aliyev/