BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. The rights of Western Azerbaijanis, who were deported many times, must be restored, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting with intellectuals from Western Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
"Western Azerbaijanis are a community that has been illegally deported many times. Their rights must be restored and they must be able to return to their native lands. When I say this, I can foresee another hysteria in Armenia about Azerbaijan coming and invading them. No! We want to do it peacefully. We want to secure our rights through peaceful means. And let me say again, all conventions recognize this right. Therefore, in order to achieve this, we must also be more active at the international level. I believe that the Community should have a reliable digital platform, a domain. It should contain information about historical facts, our historical sites, palaces, mosques and cities destroyed by the Armenians, facts related to Azerbaijan's historical heritage erased by the Armenians. For example, people in the world are beginning to know this. And they are asking – we asked this question, the representatives of Azerbaijan did, the people dealing with this issue did – show us where the historical center of Iravan is. Where is the historical center of Iravan? If you are saying that it is supposedly the oldest city in the world, where is its historical center?
Look at other countries of the South Caucasus – Azerbaijan, Georgia, our cities, most of our cities have historical sites and historical centers – whether it is Baku, Ganja, Nakhchivan, Sheki, Gabala or any other city. How can it be possible that there is no historical center in Iravan? Let them answer this straightforward question. The answer is clear as day. This historical center was the historical heritage of the Azerbaijani people, which they have destroyed. Under the guise of urban development, they have destroyed all our historical buildings, including the Iravan Castle and the Sardar Palace. So all this should be exposed. In other words, apart from the political and legal side of any issue, the historical side of it is also important. Therefore, our work should be based on this history," President Ilham Aliyev said.