Karabakh Refugees Hold Little Hope for Azerbaijan Peace

But in a surprise move last week, he rolled back on the announcement in comments given in Yerevan.

The statement appeared to undo a historic move by the separatists to dissolve the disputed territory that was at the center of two costly wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 and the 1990s.

It will have no effect on the ground, as Karabakh is now under full Azerbaijani control, and Yerevan is unlikely to support the continued functioning of separatist institutions on its territory.

But Shahramanyan’s decision resonated with many Karabakh refugees who still cherish their decades-long dream of secession from Azerbaijan.

“Kids are constantly having nightmares, crying at night and keep asking me when we will return home,” said Arevik. “We will return under the sole condition: if we will be living separately from the Turks, and when our children’s safety will be guaranteed 100 percent.”

Arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan have said they are close to signing a peace agreement based on the recognition of each other’s territorial integrity.

But few among Karabakh refugees share the hope, as deeply-rooted ethnic hatred still poisons relations between Armenians and Azerbaijanis after decades of enmity.

“I don’t believe in peace” with Azerbaijanis, said 65-year-old refugee Boris Dolukhanyan, whose son was killed in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.

“How can we live alongside Turks who killed my child?” he added. “We must become strong enough to retake our land by force.”

Dolukhanyan said his family “lived a prosperous life” in Karabakh’s main city of Khankendi (Stepanakert in Armenian), where they had several houses, land plots, and a farm of exotic birds.

“We left behind our paradise,” he said, adding that they now rent a three-room apartment in Yerevan, which they can no longer afford, and are looking for cheaper housing.

His 10-year-old granddaughter, Ruzanna, said her Christmas wish was for “Santa to make a miracle so that we can return home.”