Aliyev promised to ensure all rights of the Armenians of Karabakh

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev promised in his address to the nation to ensure all the rights of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, expressing confidence that they will soon see changes for the better.

“I said it and I want to say it again: the Armenian population of Karabakh are our citizens <...> I am confident that the Armenian population living in Karabakh will soon see changes for the better. <...> All their rights will be guaranteed – rights to education, cultural rights, religious rights, rights to municipal elections,” he said (quote according to Azertaj).

Azerbaijan, Aliyev asserts, strives to build a common life on the basis of peace, mutual understanding and mutual respect. Baku, according to him, is ready to implement various social programs in the region and is already actively restoring the territories of Karabakh that came under its control in the fall of 2020.

On September 19, Azerbaijan announced the start of “anti-terrorism measures” in Nagorno-Karabakh to “restorate the constitutional order.” Already on September 20, the unrecognized republic announced a complete ceasefire and disarmament of troops through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers. This was later confirmed by the defense departments of Azerbaijan and Russia.

As noted in the office of the head of the NKR, issues of reintegration, ensuring the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will be discussed at a meeting of “representatives of the local Armenian population” and the Azerbaijani authorities in Yevlakh on September 21, as well as at subsequent meetings.

After the outbreak of hostilities, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan had launched a “ground operation to ethnically cleanse the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.” Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated on the evening of September 20, that there is no reason to talk about “ethnic cleansing” in Nagorno-Karabakh.