By Paul Vartan Sookiasian
The Armenian government appears to be continuing to rebuff calls for the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh, despite a growing number of key regional and global players pushing Azerbaijan to allow the more than 100,000 Armenians forcibly displaced last year to return to their homes.
While many international players do highlight this “right to return,” the Armenian government does not appear to be raising the issue in its already very difficult normalization talks with Azerbaijan, instead seeming to focus on the importance of integrating Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians into Armenia.
In sharp contrast, Artsakh’s former leadership continues to emphasize that Nagorno-Karabakh remains their homeland, arguing their right to return is indisputably recognized by the United Nations’ top court.
Still, Armenia’s support on the matter is crucial, Artak Beglaryan, who previously served as Artsakh’s state minister and human rights defender, told CivilNet.
“Without the Armenian government having a strong position on our collective return and efficient steps for it, the international community will not deal with the issue seriously,” Beglaryan said. “We can’t expect anything more from others than what comes from the Armenian government, so we need to substantially change its position on these matters or else we can’t get any serious results.”
Benyamin Poghosyan, senior research fellow at the APRI Armenia think tank, told CivilNet the Armenian government’s policy of silence on the matter is part of a broader strategy to take steps to discourage new attacks by Azerbaijan. Officials in Yerevan believe talking about the return of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians will validate counterclaims by Baku regarding Azerbaijanis who lived in Armenia during Soviet times, Poghosyan added.
While the Armenian government is staying silent, many international actors are not.
The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, reiterated her country’s position “strongly support(ing) the right of return” in an interview with Radio Azatutyun, RFE/RL’s Armenian service, published Thursday.
“We are certainly willing to work with other international organizations to try to see if we can find a way for them (Armenians) to return to Karabakh at some point,” Kristina Kvien said.
Earlier, a State Department spokesperson called for an independent international monitoring mission “that would provide transparency and reassurance to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh that the rights and securities of Armenians would be protected, particularly for any of those that wish to return.”
For their part, top European Union officials, including European Council President Charles Michel, have consistently made similar calls for Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to be afforded the right to return with security guarantees and protected rights.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament last month overwhelmingly voted to adopt a resolution calling on Azerbaijan to “genuinely engage in a comprehensive and transparent dialogue with the Karabakh Armenians to ensure respect for their rights and guarantee their security, including their right to return to and live in their homes in dignity and safety under international presence.”
France’s envoy to Armenia, Olivier Decottignies, has also highlighted that Azerbaijan violates the people of Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to return, which the International Court of Justice recognized last year.
Likewise, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly of Canada, one of the few non-EU countries to take part in the bloc’s monitoring mission along the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan, has called on Azerbaijan to “respect the right of return of the recently displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Even the United Kingdom, known for its close economic and energy ties with Azerbaijan, has demanded the country act. Leo Docherty, an official who formerly oversaw European security policy, has told lawmakers Azerbaijan “must create the conditions for a safe and secure return of ethnic Armenians who were displaced during September’s military operation and want to return.”
Armenians’ right to return to Nagorno-Karabakh is “important” for Russia as well, according to the country’s ambassador to Armenia. Sergey Kopyrkin has tied the issue to the continued presence of Russian peacekeepers in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, where they have been deployed since the 2020 war.
The lack of Armenians to protect appears to render the peacekeepers’ presence redundant, and Azerbaijan may use that as ground to let the mission expire when its current mandate ends late next year.
Iranian diplomats have also called for Azerbaijan to allow Armenians to return to Nagorno-Karabakh, including the country’s ambassador in Yerevan.
“This is a reality that no one, including Azerbaijan, can ignore,” Mehdi Sobhani told CivilNet in a rare interview.
Nonetheless, Beglaryan said collectively returning to Nagorno-Karabakh without stronger pressure by the Armenian government and concrete mechanisms and guarantees of international protection would be unrealistic.
“Under Azerbaijani control, this (returning) is impossible,” he insisted, “because Azerbaijan has perpetrated international crimes with a genocidal policy.”
In the meantime, Beglaryan said, the most important priority remains preventing the emigration of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians from Armenia and ensuring the people have access to proper housing and employment, as well as the full protection of their rights.
Around 11,000 displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh have already left Armenia for other countries, mostly Russia, former Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan told Radio Azatutyun last month.
2 Comments
Isn’t the answer obvious?
How nice that all these countries are now, after the fact, supporting the right or return for Artsakh Armenians. I’m sure the author isn’t naieve enough to think this is just political grandstanding to mitigate their inaction to prevent the displacement in the first place. Thw West has made its peace with Baku and will never risk its economic and strategic interests there, even under the auticratic rule of Aliyev. What safety guarantees can the West finanlize with Baku that might convince some of the displaced to return? Little if any. Baku regained control of Artsakh and Armenians there footed with their feet and fled. Simple. For 25 years, the West and Russia never backed Artsakh independence. Armenia and successive Artsakh governments never accepted this reality and instead pushed maximalist demands. They couldn’t, in the long run, sustain the status-quo. Pashinyan was unable to back his “Artsakh is Armenia. Period” boast. You’re crying over spilt milk. The damage has been done. The page has been turned. Who even wants to return?