Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has claimed that the closure of Azerbaijan’s land borders since March 2020 has protected the country from ‘external risks’.

Azerbaijan’s land borders were originally closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have since remained inaccessible for entry, as well as for exit by Azerbaijani citizens. 

[Read more: Opinion | Four years of entrapment: why Azerbaijan’s land borders remain closed]

Aliyev made his statements as part of the opening session of the new parliament following snap elections on 1 September.

In his speech, Aliyev stated that he could say ‘with absolute certainty that the closure of our land borders over the past few years has saved us from many major disasters. Even today, with the borders closed, dangerous developments unfold and are being prevented.’

‘While there are no internal risks in Azerbaijan, the protection of our borders will safeguard us from external risks’, he added.

‘There are no internal risks in Azerbaijan. Security and peace have been ensured in Azerbaijan for many years.’

What counts as a danger for Azerbaijan?

Azerbaijan’s continued closure of its land borders has been a subject of criticism domestically and internationally.

Some have pointed to the World Health Organisation’s downgrading of COVID-19 from a global health emergency in May 2023, criticising the closure of the land border while removing vaccination requirements for entry into Azerbaijan via air.

[Read more: Three years since the COVID outbreak, Azerbaijanis still cannot cross their border]

The statement by Aliyev also led to speculation as to the source of the security concerns leading to the border closure. 

Jamil Hasanli, chair of the National Council of Democratic Forces, an opposition coalition, told OC Media that closing the land border was a violation of the constitutional rights of Azerbaijani citizens. He also added that the closure has had a serious economic impact.

‘It is the second time Ilham Aliyev mentioned that the border was closed for security reasons, but he did not mention what these reasons are, and from where this danger may come. Maybe it is a necessity, and the population should know about this danger’.

Hasanli cited the example of the Russian–Ukrainian land border after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

‘Why has Russia, the country that invaded Ukraine, not closed its land border? Or Ukraine closed its borders? Or Iran, a country that lives under sanctions? Or Armenia or Georgia? The danger only exists for Azerbaijan, and Aliyev should speak about what this danger is’, he said, arguing that if there was a danger in the land border, this could affect the air borders as well.

Hasanli stated that the main reason for the closing border was to create ‘a closed state’.

Altay Goyushov, a history professor, has said that Azerbaijan refuses to open its land border because ‘Aliyev is afraid of the loss of power’.

‘For example, this fear is the reason why he imprisons innocent people. He believes that those he has imprisoned are a threat to his authority’, Goyushov wrote on Facebook. He added that ‘regarding the border issue, he [Aliyev] believes that people’s freedom and free border crossing are dangerous for his power’.

Rafig Muradov, a resident of the Gazakh District near the border with Georgia, told OC Media that he ‘never felt unsafe’ living there.

‘From childhood, I travelled to Georgia and I never faced someone who may attack me or my family or the region. I never felt unsafe living on the border’, he said, adding that residents of Gazakh would visit Georgia to buy goods and products at cheaper prices.