“You heard from Armenia this morning a reference to Azerbaijan's Great Return program meaning that Azerbaijanis are moving into homes in Garabagh as we speak.”

This statement was made by Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov in his remarks during the hearings regarding Armenia's appeal against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice

"An apparent justification for the supposed urgency of Armenia's proposed measures. That is absolutely false. The Great Return program is not about taking over Armenian homes in Garabagh. It was initiated in late 2020 to conduct mining activities, undertake rebuilding, and otherwise restore the land ravaged by Armenia's invasion and 30-year occupation in order to allow over one million Azerbaijanis displaced by Armenia in the 1990s to return to their own homes."

Elnu Mammadova also noted that this morning Armenia showed images of a map that allegedly includes new Azerbaijani names on renamed streets in Khankendi:

"Let me be clear that no streets in Khankendi have been renamed. The social media post on which Armenia relies was originally posted in August 2021 more than 2 years before the events giving rise to Armenia's present request."

Ulviyya Shahin