President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has completed his visit to Turkey, where he held negotiations with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The leaders also inaugurated the Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline via video link, a project that will strengthen the energy security of the isolated region.
During his speech at the inauguration ceremony, Ilham Aliyev touched on various aspects of bilateral cooperation. The head of state emphasized:
“Today, the two brotherly countries—Turkey and Azerbaijan—are implementing gigantic projects. Projects such as the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan and Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum oil and gas pipelines, as well as TANAP, have not only connected our countries but also changed the energy map of Eurasia. Today, Azerbaijani gas, transported through Turkey, ensures the energy security of many countries.”
He further highlighted how joint energy projects have paved the way for major transport initiatives:
“The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, which connects Turkey with Azerbaijan, provides immense advantages for our countries and beyond.”
However, perhaps the most striking statement by Ilham Aliyev concerned the historical isolation of Nakhchivan:
“As you know, Nakhchivan is an ancient Azerbaijani land. However, for more than a century, it has been separated from the main part of Azerbaijan. The reason for this is that, just five months after the fall of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1920, Soviet authorities detached Western Zangezur from Azerbaijan and transferred it to Armenia. As a result, a direct land connection between Azerbaijan and its integral part, Nakhchivan, was severed. This injustice, lasting for over a century, has had severe consequences for our compatriots living in Nakhchivan.
Moreover, when the First Karabakh War began, Armenia not only occupied Karabakh but also blockaded Nakhchivan, aiming to take control of the region. However, at that time, my father, Heydar Aliyev, as the leader of Nakhchivan, prevented this, and the people of Nakhchivan mobilized to defend their land, stopping the aggressors in their tracks.”*
Aliyev reminded that Armenian territorial ambitions were not limited to Karabakh. Armenian plans for Nakhchivan had been documented long before the First Karabakh War. For instance, on December 11, 1985, the French-Armenian newspaper Gamk published the “Political Manifesto of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation,” which explicitly stated:
“The borders of a united Armenia should include the Armenian territories defined by the Treaty of Sèvres, encompassing Nakhchivan, Akhalkalaki, and Karabakh.”
This manifesto marked the beginning of Armenia’s explicit territorial claims, which initially included the capture of Nakhchivan as well.
Much evidence suggests that Armenia’s long-standing blockade of Nakhchivan was part of a broader plan to isolate and weaken the region. Even during Soviet times, Armenia implemented a transport blockade against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
Despite Azerbaijan’s appeals, Moscow did not take real steps to restore connections between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, instead choosing to ignore the problem. Later, during the 44-day war, Armenian forces launched missile strikes on Nakhchivan. The locations targeted by Armenia’s attacks closely aligned with its long-standing territorial claims.
One of Aliyev’s key points was revisiting the territorial losses of Azerbaijan after the fall of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic:
“After the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the lands of Western Zangezur were detached from our country and given to Armenia. This is a historical injustice.”
Azerbaijan has regained its territorial integrity and sovereignty within internationally recognized borders. It was Azerbaijan that proposed working on a peace treaty with Armenia, based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity. The victory in the Second Karabakh War offered an opportunity to close the chapter on conflict and build a peaceful future.
However, signs increasingly indicate that Armenia is squandering this unique opportunity. Not only has Yerevan stalled the process of reopening regional transport links, but more critically, it has failed to make progress on a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. The primary obstacle remains Armenia’s refusal to amend its constitution and remove its territorial claims over Karabakh.
Despite numerous diplomatic efforts, Armenia has not abandoned its territorial ambitions. Furthermore, structures associated with the former occupying regime still operate in Armenia, and there are clear indications that Yerevan is preparing for a future conflict.
Aliyev emphasized that while Azerbaijan does not make territorial claims against its neighbors, it firmly stands for respect for territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders. However, if Armenia once again attempts to alter borders through force—especially based on fabricated “historical rights”—then the past transfer of Western Zangezur to Armenia may be reassessed in a new light.
Azerbaijan’s victory in the 44-day war shattered long-standing assumptions about the region’s geopolitical landscape. For the first time in 200 years, Azerbaijan did not lose territory—it regained it. As Aliyev pointedly noted,
“The pendulum of history has begun to swing in the opposite direction.”
Nurani
