Hornet's nest has been stirred up: how topic of Western Azerbaijan scared revanchists

The appearance of the topic of Western Azerbaijan in the international discourse has stirred up a hornet's nest.

The notorious American journalist Lindsey Snell has reappeared. Madame threw a tantrum, claiming that Baku promotes the narrative of the Community of Western Azerbaijan through officials of European countries. As in the case of the "mercenaries" in the Azerbaijani army, she imagined an "increase in the number of Europeans" (!!!) in a community that is allegedly linked to the Azerbaijani authorities. In her post on the social network X, the journalist who serves the revanchists even pointed out some European officials who suggested holding an event on Western Azerbaijan in Germany.

Lindsay Snell is a provocateur. She's involved in provocations, that's her specialty. Of course, she didn't mention any names, because she just couldn't name them. Nevertheless, the revanchists clung to a non-existent "European official" who allegedly belonged to the Community and offered to do something in Germany. There is no official or proposal. And there is Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who recently visited Germany and, while there, suggested that Azerbaijan mutually abandon the topic of return. That is, to close the topic of Western Azerbaijan and the return of Armenians to Karabakh.

Snell deliberately distorted the situation. And the Armenian media, controlled by the opposition, are already writing news referring to it.

Recall that this journalist is the author of a fake story about "Syrian mercenaries" who allegedly fought for Azerbaijan in the 44-day war. It was a planned provocative action. And the most remarkable thing is that it began to unfold even before the start of the war. A week before the start of hostilities, Snell, referring to a Syrian militant, wrote a post saying that "the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army is going to Karabakh." She attached a photo of unknown military personnel on the plane to the post, claiming that these were the very fighters of the Hamza division flying to Baku. Her tweet, clearly fake, became the primary source for publications in the media in many countries. It was here that Lindsay Snell caught up with "glory", or rather, the attention of the Armenians.

In the postwar years, Snell continued to work on the path of provocation. And every time, her illiteracy, illogic, and, sorry, stupidity just went through the roof. The provocateur was so poorly prepared that she found herself in a puddle even in basic things. Having tried to accuse Baku of intending to bring something other than 40 tons of flour to Khankendi in September 2023, she did not deign to at least Google the trucks' carrying capacity before making her statements against the Azerbaijani Red Crescent. Shortly before the counter-terrorism operation, she distributed on social networks (apparently, this is her limit) a list of foreign journalists who participated in the Shusha media Forum, with the aim of discrediting them later.

Now Snell is spreading fakes about the topic of Western Azerbaijan in Europe. In fact, Europe does not participate in this issue in any way, does not support the right of Azerbaijanis to return to Armenia in any way. Unfortunately. We would be glad if European officials would at least sometimes recall along with the Armenians who voluntarily left Karabakh and the Azerbaijanis forcibly deported from Armenia. Unfortunately, this is not happening. It would be appropriate to recall the words of the former EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, in his farewell interview with the Armenian media. He stated that the return of Armenians to Karabakh and the return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia are "completely different issues for him that should not be confused." "The first one is to facilitate the return of Karabakh Armenians to their ancestral homes, which is an obligation of Azerbaijan. The second is the issue of Armenians who used to live in other parts of Azerbaijan, including Baku, or Azerbaijanis who used to live in Armenia. Naturally, they should also be able to visit the places where they or their families lived, or even return there if they so wish, and this should also be a consequence of normalization, but this is a completely different issue from the specific issue of Karabakh Armenians," Klaar said.

So Lindsay Snell has nothing to worry about.

The issue of Western Azerbaijan, especially after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's proposal to Azerbaijan to mutually abandon narratives of return, has seriously stirred up the revanchist swamp. Former Foreign Minister and now head of the "commission for collective repatriation to Karabakh" Vardan Oskanian was very afraid of "legitimizing new encroachments on the sovereign territory of Armenia." I think it wasn't this far-fetched thesis that scared him the most, but the prospect of losing his "position." Pashinyan's proclaimed refusal to promote the issue of the return of Armenians will make all the "commissions" and other fake structures around the topic of "ethnic cleansing" meaningless, and the sponsors will stop funding.

The figure, who presents himself as a professional in diplomacy everywhere, wrote on his Facebook page that the issues of the return of Armenians to Karabakh and Azerbaijanis to Armenia are completely different. According to Oskanian, "there are no parallels between them either from the point of view of international law, nor from the point of view of international perception, nor from the point of view of simple logic." He calls to witness, as he writes, dozens of international platforms, conventions, agreements and precedents, which, they say, give Armenians the right to demand return and separation. But the Azerbaijanis have no rights, it turns out that the issue of their return "has no legitimacy from the point of view of international law."

Oskanian casts doubt on his professionalism, claiming that Azerbaijanis have fewer legitimate rights to return to Armenia. This is an illusion designed to keep the Armenian society in a stupefied state. In fact, more than two hundred thousand people have every right to return to their ancestral lands in Armenia.

Of all the arguments of the head of the "commission on collective repatriation", only one corresponds to reality. Oskanian is absolutely right to point out the difference in international perception. Indeed, the fate of the Azerbaijanis of Armenia, who were subjected to ethnic cleansing and forced deportation, has never been of interest to the international community, and today it is also perceived as if it were somewhere on Mars. Toivo Klaar, whom we discussed above, actually expressed a common European view on this issue. Now, with the change of leadership in the European Union, perhaps the officials there would no longer speak so unequivocally. However, this does not change the fact that the perception of the far-fetched "sufferings" of Armenians and the real tragedies of Azerbaijanis will always remain unequal. Because there is such a factor as "Islamophobia," and the Armenians do not skimp by buying votes.

Just the day before, a suspiciously pro-Armenian organization called Christian Solidarity International (CSI) called on the Armenian authorities to stop putting pressure on the institutions of the "people of Artsakh.".. One might wonder what the "Christian solidarity" has to do with the internal affairs of Armenia and the work of its law enforcement agencies. If law enforcement officers had searched a church or religious organization and harassed believers, it would have been a stretch to admit a statement from CSI. But what does a Christian organization care about searches in a fake separatist office? CSI, which has no right to interfere in such matters. What does she care about political pressure on the separatists?

The pro-Armenian office, hiding under "Christian solidarity," has given itself away. The same situation, by the way, is with the so-called Lemkin Institute. Apparently, CSI, like this office, was created with Armenian funding to promote the interests of the Armenian people. We emphasize that it is not the interests of Armenia, but the interests of the Armenian people. The interests of Armenia today have nothing to do with the interests of the Armenian people. The gap between them is getting wider. On one side is the Diaspora, the lobby and the diverse anti-Azerbaijani circles, on the other is the Republic of Armenia, whose leadership is trying to give the Armenian people a future. 

The hornet's nest, as we can see, is in great anxiety. Let's not say it's going to get better. On the contrary, we warn you that there will soon be much more reasons for concern.