by Mansihak Baghdasaryan
Azerbaijan continues to push its expansionist project under the label of “Western Azerbaijan.” Behind this name lies a clear and dangerous agenda: the claim that the entire sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia belongs to Azerbaijan. This is not empty “symbolism”. It is a state policy, backed by official structures, documents, and a systematic campaign of preparing people for eventual settlement in Armenia.
Preparing a Population for Armenia
Baku has openly registered more than 100,000 people as so-called “Western Azerbaijanis,” with hundreds more signing up every single day. These are not only those who left Armenia in the late 1980s. Azerbaijan also registers their descendants who have never set foot in Armenia. The goal is obvious. It is to create a manufactured population that can one day be used to claim a “right of return” and alter Armenia’s demographic balance.
ID cards of the so-called “Western Azerbaijan” community.
The state issues ID cards listing Armenian towns and villages as places of origin. A person from Baku may now carry a card that claims their “ancestral homeland” is Chambarak (Çəmbərək). These are political weapons designed to erase Armenian sovereignty in Armenian lands.
The Government’s Propaganda
Even when Azerbaijan temporarily announces the dissolution of certain “Western Azerbaijan” organizations, this is merely a tactical maneuver that the Armenian government uses as propaganda to calm the public. Reports indicate that such steps are taken not because Baku has abandoned its plans, but because of international commitments or pressures, particularly in Washington. In practice, the ideology remains untouched: senior Azerbaijani officials, including MPs and community leaders, continue to declare openly that the “return” of Azerbaijanis to Armenia is both inevitable and just. For Armenia, this is not propaganda to be dismissed. It is preparation for action. Every speech, every ID card, every registration is a rehearsal for the day Baku tries to turn claims into reality.
Silence or Complicity?
What makes the danger even greater is the silence of Armenia’s own government. Instead of warning society and the international community about this project, the ruling party promotes the false idea that Azerbaijan has abandoned its expansionist goals. The government’s propaganda seeks to pacify Armenians, while in Baku the opposite message is being delivered with confidence and without hesitation. By refusing to confront this openly, the authorities in Yerevan are not protecting peace. They are exposing Armenia to a long-term strategy of colonization and eventual absorption: very consistent with their pro-Turkic objectives adopted during and after 2020.
The “Western Azerbaijan” program is not symbolic. It is a direct threat to Armenia’s survival as a state. By building an artificial population of “displaced persons,” Azerbaijan is creating the foundation for legal and political claims that Armenia cannot ignore. If this continues unchecked, Armenia risks being reduced to a country whose sovereignty exists only on paper, with its people turned into a minority in their own land.
History has shown repeatedly that unchecked propaganda, when institutionalized and weaponized, leads to real violence and dispossession. The “Western Azerbaijan” project is no exception. Unless confronted directly, it will become the justification for tomorrow’s occupation.
