Azerbaijan's Settlement Push in Artsakh Faces Population Resistance

Despite significant investment in construction and infrastructure projects, Azerbaijan has struggled to attract its own citizens to settle in occupied Artsakh following the 2020 war, according to regional security analyst Mushegh Khudaverdyan in an interview with The Armenian Weekly.

Khudaverdyan notes that Baku views population settlement as strategically critical for consolidating control over the territory. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is pursuing a separate demand: the resettlement of what it claims are 300,000 displaced Azerbaijanis in Armenia proper—a figure disputed by Soviet census data, which recorded significantly lower numbers.

Khudaverdyan warns that Azerbaijan and Turkey have made population return a non-negotiable precondition in peace negotiations with Armenia. He argues Armenia must likewise demand the return of hundreds of thousands of Armenians displaced from Artsakh and Azerbaijan.