Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev began Friday morning with new and old demands to Armenia. They were voiced in a message addressed the participants of the 3rd International Conference held in Azerbaijani capital Baku, and themed “Cultural heritage and the right to return: Restoration of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis displaced from Armenia as a path to justice, reconciliation, and peace.”

Holding a conference with such a promising title already seems strange, considering the announced efforts for reconciliation and renunciation of mutual claims. But Aliyev says one thing and does another.

As seen from the text of the message, “Armenia has historically destroyed the rich material and non-material cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis living in Western Azerbaijan, as well as places of worship and cemeteries, in order to erase traces of the Azerbaijani people from its territory.”

As a “spoonful of honey” among Azerbaijani threats and demands, Aliyev noted: “The meeting between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington on August 8, 2025, under the mediation of the United States, the signing of a joint declaration, and the initialing of the peace agreement draft inspire hope and confidence for the future coexistence of the two peoples.”

“We believe that the peaceful representatives of the Western Azerbaijani community will return to their ancestral lands, and that good neighborly relations will be established between our peoples,” Aliyev declared.

According to the Azerbaijani leader, “The restoration and protection of Azerbaijani cultural heritage in Armenia is the legitimate demand of the Azerbaijani people, and it is necessary to respect universal values, eliminate hostility, and achieve mutual understanding between peoples.” In “translation” from the Azerbaijani president, this is his condition for signing a peace agreement with Armenia.

Then Aliyev made reference to “historical facts,” which, as is known, are proclaimed by the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and have nothing to do with real historical facts. Based on the above, Aliyev concluded: “Measures are needed to assess the crimes against humanity committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis within the framework of international law, and the support of the international community in this matter is extremely important.”