For Azerbaijan, the return of former internally displaced persons to their native lands and the settlement of Karabakh, which is perceived as the Azerbaijani “Alsace-Lorraine,” are a primary strategic task, according to an article by the French L'Opinion, Report informs.
According to the author, despite that the country is rich in gas and oil, the Great Return policy requires large investments. “For this we need peace [with Armenia],” noted Azerbaijani Presidential Representative for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbayov. And it's necessary to ask oneself how long it took France and Germany to achieve this, says the author.
“Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity after liberating the territories occupied by Armenian separatists more than thirty years ago. This is the 'Great Return' of Azerbaijanis to Karabakh,” the article notes.
“The occupation has ended, and all territories have been liberated,” explained Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmat Hajiyev. “A great return? This is our national dream.”
In this long-term conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, everything is decided by the question of perspective, the author writes. “Taking this into account, L'Opinion went to listen to the Azerbaijani side, whose voice is rarely heard in France,” he noted.
The journalist visited Baku and also traveled around the liberated territories of the country. A significant part of the article is devoted to the history of the city of Aghdam, which was called the Caucasian Hiroshima: “Until the 1980s, Aghdam was the dynamically developing administrative and commercial center of Karabakh. At that time, it was home to 37,000 residents, mostly Azerbaijanis. Armenian troops occupied it in July 1993.”
Aghdam was liberated by Azerbaijan in November 2020. But demining work in these territories continues to this day.
Faig Hajiyev, who is responsible for the reconstruction of Aghdam, notes that the concept of a smart city will be applied in Aghdam, as in other territories of liberated Karabakh.
“The largest Azerbaijani companies have been mobilized to participate in restoration work on these lands,” the article says.