In recent weeks, claims accusing Azerbaijan of having "expelled" Armenians from Karabakh and carried out so-called "ethnic cleansing" have once again been circulating widely across social media and Armenian nationalist platforms. These accusations are politically motivated, deliberately misleading, and aimed at distorting the realities on the ground.

The language is not new. It has been repeated for years, often without sufficient reference to the broader history of the former Karabakh conflict, the decades of Azerbaijani displacement, the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and the reintegration proposal that Baku put forward for the Armenian population of Karabakh in 2023.

The question, therefore, should be asked openly: what is the purpose of constantly reviving this narrative?

For Azerbaijan, the fundamental issue has always been territorial integrity. Karabakh and the surrounding territories were internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, even while Armenian forces and the separatist administration exercised control over much of the region for decades.

Following the 2020 war, when Azerbaijan restored control over significant territories internationally recognized as part of the country, Baku repeatedly stated that Armenian residents (who were born in Karabakh) of Karabakh could remain in their homes, acquire Azerbaijani citizenship and live as equal citizens of Azerbaijan.

This position was made particularly explicit in 2023, when Azerbaijan presented proposals for the reintegration of the Armenian population of Karabakh. The Azerbaijani authorities described the plan as providing for social and economic integration, access to........

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