PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES MEMBERS OF US COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
Baku, May 14 (AZERTAC). President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received members of the US Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday. When asked about peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Ilham Aliyev said:
“Today, there are various approaches and evaluations concerning the situation. Some think we are close to the agreement, others can claim that there is still much work to do in this direction. As to the progress in negotiations, I assess it as the positive process and progress in some points of the agreement, which was impossible a few years ago, has been achieved. However, this progress is not enough to solve the problem and secure the agreement.
It is 17 years since Minsk Group has been established and notwithstanding the progress there is no any result. The situation remains unchanged. Our lands are under occupation. Seven regions located outside Nagorno-Karabakh border were occupied by Armenians. As a result of the policy of ethnic cleansing pursued by Armenians, about a million Azerbaijani became refugees and IDPs and this situation is going on now.
The resolution of the conflict must be based on international law norms. The United Nations Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from occupied lands. The world community recognized the fact of occupation of our lands. Territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was recognized and supported internationally. Minsk Group co-chairs made statements a few times supporting Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity. When Azerbaijan joined the UN, it recognized the country`s territorial integrity.
As to Armenia`s attempts to put forward an argument on self-determination, I want to say that Armenians exercised this right when Armenian state was established. With this logic, there must be many Armenian states in the world. It is a wrong approach. During talks, we always try to draw Armenian side`s attention to the Helsinki Final Act. The articles about territorial integrity and self-determination are clearly set forth in the final act: self-determination may not contradict the principle of internationally recognized territorial integrity of states. Therefore, resolution of the conflict must be, first of all, based on the international law norms, which will allow us to restore our territorial integrity and Azerbaijani population to return their homes to live in peace. In the light of processes concerning integration and opening of borders in Europe, no country must build its future in isolation. Today, the situation Armenia got into was created by them through pursuing an aggressive policy”.
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