Trump’s peace deal leaves Artsakh’s displaced behind

The U.S.-brokered peace agreement ignores the 120,000 Armenians driven from their homeland

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Nearly two years after Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno-Karabakh drove 120,000 Armenians from their homes, the U.S.-brokered peace may look like stability, but it has left them invisible, with no guarantees for their safety, return, or the survival of their 1,700-year-old Christian heritage.

For the displaced, peace on paper means nothing if it locks them out of their homeland forever.

Nagorno-Karabakh—called Artsakh by Armenians—is a mountainous enclave in the South Caucasus, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but historically home to a majority ethnic Armenian population. The region has been the focus of repeated wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the collapse of the Soviet Union, with Armenians claiming deep cultural and religious ties stretching back centuries. In 2023, Azerbaijan’s lightning offensive ended decades of de facto Armenian self-rule and triggered the mass exodus.

The Aug. 8 agreement, signed with much fanfare by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia and praised by U.S. President Donald Trump, was billed as a historic breakthrough. In reality, critics argue it ignores the war’s most vulnerable victims: the people driven from Artsakh, now scattered across Armenia and living in uncertainty.

“It is heartbreaking to see so much excitement about the peace agreement when, for us—the displaced people of Artsakh—it feels like we don’t exist at all,” said journalist Siranush Sargysan, who has survived multiple wars and a forced flight from her home. “The agreement completely ignores those of us who fled in 2023. We feel invisible and unheard. How can there be peace when our people remain, in our view, hostages in Azerbaijan?”

Jackie Abramian, co-producer of Faces of Genocide: Artsakh Ethnic Cleansing, shares that frustration, noting the right of return for refugees and prisoners of war was never raised in the negotiations.

One of the few hopeful developments, according to supporters, has come from Switzerland. Earlier this year, a majority of the upper house of parliament approved a motion calling for a “peace forum for Nagorno-Karabakh.” The initiative would bring Azerbaijan and Artsakh representatives together to negotiate the safe repatriation of those expelled.

“It’s miraculous this motion passed, given Azerbaijan’s hostility and the influence of its state oil company,” said Joel Veldkamp, director for public advocacy at Christian Solidarity International (CSI). Even Switzerland’s foreign minister initially opposed it, until MP Erich Vontobel visited Armenia, met refugees, and heard many say they wanted to return.

Meanwhile, life in exile grinds on. Many refugees lost their homes, livelihoods and communities. The housing allowance that the Armenian government had provided for them has now been terminated. Many have Azerbaijan passports since Artsakh was considered to be part of Azerbaijan. The lack of an Armenian passport makes them ineligible to apply for Armenian government support programs, thus adding to their burdens of unemployment, poverty and lack of affordable housing.

Under international law, they have the right to go back. Two U.K. parliamentarians, Lord David Alton and MP Jim Shannon, have endorsed the Swiss plan as a viable path for Christian Armenians to reclaim their heritage. “We are seeking the support of more governments,” Veldkamp said. “It would be great if the Canadian government (could) issue a public statement highlighting its importance for the peace process.”

While governments talk, NGOs are carrying the load. CSI is working to reopen the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center for people with disabilities, forced to shut after the 2023 attack. Caritas Armenia is providing housing, employment assistance and trauma care, particularly for children.

One of them is 11-year-old Alex, who fled with his family carrying only passports and a few photos. Now living in Gyumri, the second-largest city in Armenia situated close to the border with Turkey, he has friends and safety—but not home. “I want my Artsakh,” he said.

That longing is more than nostalgia. Without international pressure, especially from countries like Canada, critics warn that the exile of Artsakh’s Armenians could become permanent, and a centuries-old Christian presence may disappear from the region.

The peace deal may have ended the shooting, but until it secures the rights of the displaced, many argue it is not peace at all.

Susan Korah is Ottawa correspondent for The Catholic Register,  a Troy Media Editorial Content Provider Partner.