657 square km of Nakhchivan territory was illegally transferred to Armenia during the USSR period
The territory of 657 square kilometers of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan was illegally transferred to Armenia during the USSR period.
According to “Report”, this became evident during the investigation conducted by Nakhchivan Television on the gross violation of the terms of the Kars Treaty signed in 1921 and the requirements of international conventions.
It was noted that the Kars Agreement, which guarantees the autonomous status of Nakhchivan, is a very important legal, political, and international document, and guarantees the territorial affiliation, determination, and protection of the autonomous republic’s borders. However, the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic was attacked in violation of the Kars Treaty, approximately 15 percent of the territory determined by this treaty was illegally occupied by Armenia in different years of the 20th century.
Thus, by the decisions of the Transcaucasia Central Executive Committee, in 1929-1931, part of the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, to be more precise, 657 square kilometers, was illegally given to Armenia.
During the investigation, it was revealed that in 1929, the villages of Gurdgulak, Khachik, Horadiz, Shahbuz district of Sharur district, Agbina, Agkhach, Almali, Dag Almali, Itqiran, Sultanbey villages, Mehri, Bugakar settlements, which were part of the Garsevan soviet of Ordubad district, and part of Kilit village was given to Armenia.
In 1930, 3 more villages belonging to Nakhchivan were transferred to Armenia. The villages of Lehvaz, Astazur, and Aldara were again separated from the internationally guaranteed territories of the autonomous republic and given to Armenia. It is no coincidence that Azerbaijani toponyms were falsified by giving fictional names such as Bartsiruni to the village of Sultanbey in 1935, Boloraberd to the village of Gurdgulag in 1946, Oradis to the village of Horadiz in 1968, and Nor Aznaberd to the village of Itqiran in 1991.
Academician Ismayil Hajiyev, chairman of the Nakhchivan Department of ANAS, said that the 1929 decision was a gross violation of the Kars Treaty: “Because Azerbaijan and Turkey were not informed in advance that those territories would be given to Armenia. When Ankara learned about this, it sent a protest note to the USSR. The note underlined that the Kars agreement was concluded with Turkey, so its provisions must be fulfilled. In the subsequent stages, the territory of Nakhchivan was reduced from more than 6 thousand square kilometers to 5.5 thousand square kilometers.”
Rector of Nakhchivan State University Elbrus Isayev said that Armenia later did not agree with the articles of the Kars Treaty: “Although they approved all this in their legislative assemblies. Armenians brought up their territorial claims to Nakhchivan again. At that time, with the support of the Soviet leadership, they spoke about canceling the Kars Treaty or changing the borders. “Unfortunately, some of these claims were implemented and 12 villages of Nakhchivan were occupied by Armenians in 1929.”
In the following years, a number of territories, including Karki village of Saderak district, were occupied by Armenia, and some of our compatriots living in Western Azerbaijan were deported and forced to move to Nakhchivan.
Doctor of historical sciences Emin Shikhaliyev noted that it is a violation of the law to later hand over a place whose territory was determined in both the Moscow and Kars agreements to Armenians: “Therefore, Azerbaijan rightly brings up its lost lands in the delimitation and demarcation issues today.”
Thus, historical documents and facts irrefutably confirm that during the years of Soviet rule, 12 villages of Nakhchivan were given to Armenia, the local Azerbaijani population was removed from these villages, and the names of places were changed.
This article originally appeared in Azerbaijani language on Report.az on 19 April 2023. Translated by Azerbaijan in Focus.