US Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris has called for the right to return of displaced Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Harris made her statement on Monday as part of a letter to the American-Armenian community marking Armenian Independence Day, celebrated annually on 21 September. 

‘The right for Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to return safely to their homes is vital to restoring dignity to the Armenian people and stability to the region’, read the letter.

Harris also paid attention to the Armenian Genocide, which was recognised by the Biden Administration in 2021, noting that they ‘must also never forget’ it.

In the letter, Harris promised to continue to support Armenia ‘in its efforts to strengthen democracy and foster stability in the region’ and that she remained committed to a lasting peace between Armenia and its neighbours, one ‘that respects sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity’.

A mixed reception in Armenia

Harris’s statement was met with an ambiguous reception, both in Armenia and within the diaspora. 

Some social media users expressed appreciation for the statement, with some  highlighting that unlike Armenia’s traditional allies, such as Russia, the US had stated ‘a clear position’.

Former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Artak Beglaryan also welcomed the statement, while suggesting that current and former US administrations had failed to support Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘Will she correct Trump’s & Biden’s big mistakes if she was a part of it?’ he wrote on X. 

Others more clearly criticised Harris, including the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), one of the largest and most influential Armenian-American lobbying groups.

‘As Vice President, Kamala Harris has had a full year to act on Artsakh’s right to return — via a US-led resolution at the UN Security Council — yet she has only started talking (to Armenian Americans, not UN member states) about this right 40 days before an election in which Armenian voters across key swing states may prove decisive,’ stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Hamparian additionally criticised the US administration for arming Azerbaijan in the first place.

‘Even at the level of campaign rhetoric, she has not said a word about cutting US military arms and aid to Azerbaijan, or otherwise holding Baku accountable for its crimes,’ said Hamparian, adding that politicians ‘cannot posture as friends of Armenians while simultaneously refusing to hold Aliyev to account or failing to deter renewed Azerbaijani aggression’.

A muted reaction from Azerbaijan

The only comment from Azerbaijan regarding the letter came from the Western Azerbaijan Community. The organisation is the successor to the Azerbaijani Refugee Society, which was founded in 1989 to document the stories of Azerbaijanis displaced from Armenia in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

‘Western Azerbaijan’ is an irredentist concept used by some in Azerbaijan, including the authorities, to lay claim to the territory of modern-day Armenia.

The group shared a statement, which was published by state media outlet AZERTAC in both Azerbaijani and English, although it differed in the two languages. In Azerbaijani, specific reference was made to Harris in the opening statement, noting that the US Vice President and presidential candidate ‘referred to the right of return of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in her address to the American Armenian community’.

‘First of all, it should be noted that there is no region in Azerbaijan called “Nagorno-Karabakh”. The use of this term, associated with separatism and occupation, is disrespectful to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan’ read the statement in Azerbaijani.

In the English document, however, the statement did not mention Harris at all, instead making vague allegations.

‘At the instigation of some foreign forces, revanchist forces in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora have intensified the campaign that the ‘Nagorno-Karabakh issue’ has allegedly not been resolved and remains open,’ the opening statement of the English version read.

In both versions, the Community of Western Azerbaijan reminded readers of the right of return for ‘Western Azerbaijanis’.

 Azerbaijani officials have yet to comment on Harris’s letter.