Western Azerbaijan Community

Yuri Kim, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, took the wrong position on the right of return and discriminated against Azerbaijanis at an event entitled “The US Role for a New Regional Order in the South Caucasus,” organized by the Carnegie Endowment for Peace last week.

While speaking about the right of return of Armenians who voluntarily resettled from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, Ms. Kim did not say a word about the right of return of Azerbaijanis forcibly expelled from Armenia. This is discrimination against Azerbaijanis on ethnic and religious grounds. This position of the American official contradicts the principle of equal rights of people and impedes peace and reconciliation in the region.

Let us recall that the letter sent by the West Azerbaijani community to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in April last year about the right of return of Azerbaijanis forcibly expelled from Armenia has still remained unanswered. Kim must respond to this letter, which is her direct responsibility.

The Western Azerbaijani Community, reiterating its commitment to the norms and principles of international law, states that it will continue to work to ensure the right of return of the forcibly expelled Azerbaijanis from Armenia and the restoration of their destroyed cultural heritage. The Community demands that the US government end ethnic and religious discrimination in human rights matters and calls for respect for the right of return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia.