President Ilham Aliyev has sent a formal message to participants of the 3rd International Conference on “Cultural Heritage and the Right of Return: Restoring the Cultural Heritage of Azerbaijanis Expelled from Armenia as a Path to Justice, Reconciliation, and Peace.”
The message was delivered on behalf of the head of state by Adalat Valiyev, head of the Department for Relations with Political Parties and Legislative Power at the Presidential Administration.
Below is the English-language media-style version of President Aliyev’s address:
“Dear participants of the conference,
I extend my warm greetings to all of you attending the 3rd International Conference on ‘Cultural Heritage and the Right of Return: Restoring the cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia as a path to justice, reconciliation, and peace.’
The Azerbaijani people – whose history, statehood, and culture span millennia – have faced repeated tragedies over the past two centuries, including forced displacement, massacres, and genocide. Following the relocation of Armenians onto historically Azerbaijani lands, massive expulsions occurred in 1905–1907, 1918–1921, 1948–1953, and 1987–1991, forcing hundreds of thousands of our compatriots to flee and find refuge in Azerbaijan.
The forced relocation of Azerbaijanis from what is today Armenia-from mountainous regions to harsher climates—along with the seizure of property and destruction or appropriation of cultural and material heritage, is a matter of historical record backed by verified documentation.
For decades, Armenia repeatedly destroyed or erased both the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis living in what we refer to as Western Azerbaijan. Sacred sites, graveyards, and monuments were targeted with the aim of eliminating traces of the Azerbaijani presence on those lands. It is critically important to ensure that crimes against humanity committed against Azerbaijanis are assessed within an international legal framework and supported by the global community.
Today, strengthening efforts to secure the right of return for Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia – based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Refugee Convention, and other core international instruments – is essential.
This must go hand in hand with restoring and protecting cultural heritage, with the involvement of the international community, including relevant UN institutions. The right of return is a fundamental human right. Ensuring it means not only restoring physical presence, but also recovering spiritual integrity, cultural heritage, and historical memory.
Restoring Azerbaijani cultural heritage in Armenia is a legitimate and necessary demand – both for safeguarding universal values and for closing the chapter of hostility and building mutual understanding between peoples.
The measured and constructive approach of the Western Azerbaijan Community – which unites those directly affected by deportations and violence – its openness to reconciliation and dialogue, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and commitment to international legal norms, deserves high appreciation.
The August 8, 2025 meeting between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington, mediated by the United States, the signing of the Joint Declaration, and the initialing of a draft peace agreement inspire hope that the two peoples can build a future based on peaceful coexistence.
We believe that the peace-oriented members of the Western Azerbaijan Community will return to the lands of their ancestors and that truly good-neighborly relations will be established between our peoples.
I wish success to this traditional international conference, now an important global platform. I am confident that today’s discussions will contribute to the protection of cultural heritage, to greater understanding of the right of return, and to ensuring the safe, dignified, and peaceful return of our compatriots to their ancestral lands – an essential step toward reconciliation and lasting peace.”
