Istanbul, June 8 (AZERTAC). President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today made remarks at the third summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

The following is the full text of the President`s speech:

- My dear brother President Abdullah Gul!

Esteemed heads of state!

Esteemed heads of delegations!

Ladies and gentlemen!

First of all I would like to express my gratitude to President Abdullah Gul for sincere hospitality and the well-organized summit. I also praise Kazakh President Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev for his efforts towards making the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia become a significant international forum. I believe this organization has a very promising and bright future.

I would like to use this opportunity to express the Azerbaijani people`s solidarity with their Turkish brothers with regard to a recent attack on a humanitarian aid ship in the Mediterranean Sea, which killed innocent civilians. We strongly condemn this attack and stand shoulder to shoulder with Turkey. On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan I offer deepest sympathies and condolences to our Turkish brothers and families of the dead.

Azerbaijan is playing its role in the regional cooperation. We are completely confident that regional cooperation, regional forecasting and joint activity will decrease the existing risks and help our nations to build the forecast future.

Security measures in Asia are part of global security measures. We won`t be able to be a success without a complex approach to security measures. Fight against terrorism must be against all terrorist organizations across the world. A terrorist cannot be good or bad. This is why combining efforts against terrorism is a crucial condition for success. At the same time, regional cooperation and economic progress will make an outstanding contribution to security measures. From this point of view Azerbaijan is trying to play a key role in what is related to regional cooperation.

Different projects launched and successfully implemented in Azerbaijan create a solid ground for broad regional cooperation. I want to emphasize energy security-related projects. Those projects, born as pipeline ones, have now become a model of regional cooperation which benefits all its participants.

Azerbaijan also contributes to restoring the historical Silk Road and the railway project, which we participate in, will link Asia with Europe and also be beneficial for nations living in our region, creating an opportunity to set up a wide transport network. In other words, security requires us to combine efforts, and the economic cooperation and progress can be a road to success.

Another important issue I want to highlight is position on settlement of conflicts. Azerbaijan has been a victim of Armenia`s longstanding occupation. For almost two decades our lands, Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territories, have been under Armenia`s occupation. This occupation has created a million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs. Some twenty percent of our territories has been under the Armenian occupation. And this situation is continuing. We`ve been subjected to a policy of ethnic cleansing. Currently, there is no local resident in the occupied territories. Those places were subjected to ethnic cleansing, all constructions there, including houses, buildings, schools, graves of our ancestors, our mosques and the whole historical legacy were destroyed. We demand that Armenia fulfills decisions and resolutions of international organizations.

The UN Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding an unconditional and immediate withdrawal of the Armenian troops from Azerbaijan`s occupied lands. However, these resolutions still remain unfulfilled. The resolutions of the UN General Assembly, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Council of Europe, European Parliament and other international organizations have not yet been fulfilled. And if norms of the international law do not work which situation for the international community can we talk of? And with the resolutions, which were recognized by everybody, not fulfilled and this situation continuing, it`s questionable how international relations will be organized in future. Every country, irrespective of its importance and size, must observe international legal norms. International legal norms were created so that all countries abide by them. We are members of international organizations and must respect their decisions. If the adopted resolutions remain unfulfilled it will decrease the confidence in international institutions.

We are trying to restore our territorial integrity by peaceful means. Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity has been recognized by the whole world community and international organizations. The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict must be solved on the basis of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity, with the Armenian minority receiving a high status of self-governance and autonomy within Azerbaijan.

Once again I emphasize that Azerbaijan will continue contributing to security measures in the region. We`ll continue contributing - by our efforts and using investments we`ve made beyond our borders - to the region`s economic development. Transportation and energy infrastructure projects will bring peoples and states closer to each other. There must be balance among interests of consumers, producers and transit countries. And only in this case we will all be able to benefit from all projects.

I would like to conclude my speech by once again thanking the host Turkey for the sincere hospitality. I wish the summit successes.

Thank you for your attention.

X X X

Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is an inter-governmental security forum in Asia which was initiated by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1992.

In 1996, seventeen states participated in the conference and drafted the basic document. The CICA`s previous summits were held in 2002 and 2006 in Almaty.

The organization has 22 member states including Azerbaijan.

This year`s summit saw the CICA`s presidency pass to Turkey. It also decided to accept Vietnam and Iraq as member states.

The summit ended with the adoption of a final declaration.

######