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Hikmat Hajiyev: We did not force Armenians to leave Karabakh, it was their own decision

Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan

26 July 2025 14:30 (UTC +04:00)

“Currently, more than 50 thousand Azerbaijanis live, study and work in Karabakh and East Zangezur. We have always wanted to return to our homes. Our approach is to ensure a dignified and safe return,” said Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, in an interview with the German publication Berliner Zeitung, APA reports.

Speaking about the large-scale construction and restoration work carried out in Karabakh, Hikmet Hajiyev said that this region currently resembles a large construction site: “The Azerbaijani people are a people historically attached to their country. We have always wanted to return to our homes. Our approach is to ensure a dignified and safe return. As you can see, the Karabakh region is a large construction site. More than 50 thousand Azerbaijanis live, study and work in Karabakh and East Zangezur.”

Hikmat Hajiyev also answered the journalist's question about the possibility of Armenian residents who once lived in Karabakh returning to this region.

The presidential aide emphasized that it was their own decision to leave the territory of Azerbaijan: “First, we did not force the Armenians to leave Karabakh. The decision to leave was made by them. Second, Azerbaijan has developed a comprehensive reintegration plan, but the Armenians rejected this plan. What does this plan mean? Accepting Azerbaijani citizenship, living with Azerbaijani citizens in loyal conditions, within the framework of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This is absolutely normal for any state. Azerbaijan can never reconcile with the zigzag change of its territories. This issue is closed. For those who want to live as citizens of Azerbaijan, there are appropriate procedures.”

The presidential aide stressed that he disagreed with the description of the Karabakh Armenians' departure from this territory as "ethnic cleansing": "The voluntary departure of Karabakh Armenians from this territory cannot be called ethnic cleansing. However, if we are talking about the right of return, then we must also talk about the Azerbaijanis who lived in the territory of Armenia for decades and were forcibly expelled from there. The right of return is a topic that has been widely discussed, for example, in Germany itself, after World War II. This is one of the human rights and should be applied to the 250,000 Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia. Of course, they also have the right to return, but Yerevan refuses to talk about it."