POLITICS
PRESIDENT: AZERBAIJAN STRENGTHENING ITS MILITARY, POSITION ON LINE OF CONTACT
Baku, November 21 (AZERTAC). Azerbaijan`s President Ilham Aliyev said the country had been making tremendous work over the last few years to strengthen its military.
Speaking to representatives of the general public of Kalbajar, one of the seven Nagorno-Karabakh adjacent-Azerbaijani regions occupied by Armenia, the President said: “We`ve been spending billions to purchase state-of-the-art weapons and equipment, we`ve been strengthening our position on the line of troops` contact.”
President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan never ruled out a military option in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“We have an absolute right to liberate our lands by military means, the right which is recognized by international legal norms. However, we want the dispute to be solved peacefully, we don`t want war.”
“But if Armenia thinks that we will always be in talks, they are wrong. We will be part of the talks as long as we have a hope for the conflict`s settlement.”
The Azerbaijani leader also warned Armenians against “continuing their stalling tactics”.
“If Armenia tries to perpetuate the conflict, Azerbaijan will end the talks. There are places across the world where fruitless talks are carried our for 30 or 40 years. But this will never happen here,” said President Ilham Aliyev.