By Heghine Buniatian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on December 5 again demanded that Armenia ensure the return of Azerbaijanis who lived there until the late 1980s, saying that it is essential for ending the long-standing conflict between the two nations.
“It is necessary to ensure the return of Azerbaijanis forcibly displaced from Armenia and take steps to assess crimes against humanity committed by the Armenians within the framework of international law,” Aliyev said in a message to participants of an international conference on the issue held in Baku.
“We believe that the peace-loving members of the Western Azerbaijan community will return to their ancestral lands and good neighborly relations will be established between our peoples,” he said.
Aliyev also demanded the “restoration of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia” which he said should involve the United Nations and other international bodies. That, he said, is necessary for “eliminating hostility and achieving mutual understanding between the two peoples.”
The remarks came two days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan again declared that peace has already been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of their US-brokered agreements reached in Washington in August.
