Earlier, in 2021-2022, the government spent about $4 billion on reconstruction efforts. Baku is undertaking the task of rebuilding practically obliterated cities single-handedly. So far, no organization has allocated grants or loans to Azerbaijan. However, Baku is also not rushing to seek assistance, as the country’s economy allows it to carry out all the work independently.
The nature of the work is simply massive: not only cities but once flourishing villages need to be rebuilt. And this process, of course, will not be completed in the next year or two.
Last week, I wrote about how in a conversation with the author of these lines, a European diplomat lamented the lack of funds in Yerevan to compensate for the material damage caused to Azerbaijan. Armenians allegedly have no money, their economy is weak, and the country is barely making ends meet.
In reality, however, a rather paradoxical situation is unfolding. According to open sources, if we believe the authorities of this country, then the economy is quite the opposite – everything is going very well for Yerevan. Here, of course, one cannot help but notice the fact that much of this is happening thanks to Yerevan’s assistance to Moscow, bypassing sanctions. Even American economists talk about this, but in the West, they have turned a blind eye and pretend not to see anything. Moreover, Armenia receives money from the European Union, which aims to distance the country from Russia. Just this fact alone demonstrates the West’s greed, which turned a blind eye to the occupation of our territories but today, instead of providing assistance to the affected party, financially rewards the country that committed genocide against the Azerbaijani population in Khojaly and destroyed our settlements. Nonsense, isn’t it?
But the most interesting part is this: over the past year alone, Armenian lobbyists have managed to publish dozens of anti-Azerbaijani materials in various Western media outlets, politicians have made sharp statements against our country, and resolutions have been passed. And all this, of course, was not done for mere show. That is, Armenian lobbyists, closely cooperating with the authorities of this country, have money. And more specifically, the money comes from Yerevan.
In addition to this, Yerevan today announced a massive reform in its army: the country is acquiring weapons, and no matter how they assure that it is “defensive,” we know very well that this is not the case. Yerevan is preparing for revenge. And to hope that the Armenian side will learn lessons from the events of recent years would be mere self-deception.
Yerevan is obliged to pay reparations to Baku: for our cities and villages wiped off the face of the earth, for the exploitation of our energy resources, for the destroyed historical monuments, and for all the plundered property.
The Azerbaijani side needs to include this issue in the peace agreement or demand separate negotiations. Moreover, reparations do not necessarily have to be in the form of cash. Yerevan can very well start paying with tons of grain, construction materials, precious metals, or, let’s say, territories. And this can be done not all at once but in several stages. It’s time for Baku to take this issue seriously. The cancerous tumor of the region called “Armenia” must pay for all the troubles inflicted on the Azerbaijani people.
