AZE.US
Azerbaijani economist and politician Natig Jafarli has once again raised the issue of Azerbaijan’s closed land borders, questioning the official explanations used to justify the continued restrictions.
In a Facebook post, Jafarli said some lawmakers are trying to explain the closure of land borders by referring to security concerns. He suggested holding a live discussion with them, saying they may be able to present arguments strong enough to convince the public that the borders must remain closed.
Jafarli questioned why Azerbaijan’s land borders remain restricted while countries facing far more serious security challenges have not taken similar measures.
He pointed to Ukraine and Russia, noting that the two countries have been at war for more than four years, yet neither has fully closed its borders on security grounds.
He also compared Azerbaijan with its neighbors in the South Caucasus. According to Jafarli, Azerbaijan has the strongest army and security system in the region, while Armenia and Georgia, which he described as weaker states, continue to keep their borders open.
Jafarli also asked why an Azerbaijani citizen can fly to Tbilisi by plane but cannot return home by land if the matter is truly about security.
The post sparked a heated discussion among users, many of whom said the official reference to COVID-19 no longer appears convincing. Several commenters argued that if the pandemic is over globally, the public should be given a clear legal explanation for why the special quarantine regime continues to affect land-border travel.
Others said the security argument also raises more questions than answers. Some users asked why foreign citizens can leave Azerbaijan by land while Azerbaijani citizens face restrictions, and why the authorities do not clearly define the threat they are trying to prevent.
A number of commenters suggested that the real reasons may be economic rather than security-related. One user argued that closed borders had weakened small cross-border trade and benefited large retail chains that now import goods directly and sell them at higher prices. Jafarli replied that he had voiced that version several years earlier.
The discussion also included personal stories. One commenter wrote that after his mother died in 2024, he could not return from Derbent to Azerbaijan by land and was forced to travel through Makhachkala, Moscow and Dubai, spending about 2,000 manats, roughly $1,176, to reach Baku.
Other users complained about high airfares, saying that the lack of land routes has made travel unaffordable for many families.
For many commenters, the issue is no longer only about transportation. It has become a question of public trust, legal clarity and citizens’ right to free movement.
The debate under Jafarli’s post showed that Azerbaijan’s closed land borders remain one of the most sensitive public issues, especially as the original COVID-era explanation continues to face growing skepticism.
AZE.US