Thursday, October 5 2017 11:43

ArmInfo.President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, at a meeting with the delegation of the  Committee on Politics and Security of the Council of the European Union, once again accused Armenia of "aggression".

"The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is known to the international  community. The OSCE twice dispatched fact-finding and evaluation  missions to the "occupied territories" and their reports indicate  that acts of vandalism have been committed on these lands.  Unfortunately, the negotiations within the framework of the OSCE  Minsk Group have continued for many years, without giving any  practical results. Armenia is trying not to change, to preserve the  status quo. This is the main reason for not settling the conflict,  "Aliyev said and again reminded about the resolution of the UN  Security Council.

Aliyev said that the status quo is unacceptable. According to him,  this is insisted not only by Baku but also by Minsk mediators. "The  presidents of these countries have several times stated that the  status quo must be changed, this is unacceptable. Armenia simply  closes its eyes and does everything to keep the status quo unchanged.  Their tactics  is to  keep the status quo as unchanged as possible.  They have now drawn up a new map where the former Nagorno-Karabakh  Autonomous Region of the region and the seven regions adjacent to  Nagorno-Karabakh are represented as part of the "fictional"  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. This shows that they are not interested in  a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Our position is very clear and  simple, it has been repeatedly expressed. Nagorno-Karabakh is the  historical part of Azerbaijan. Nagorno- Karabakh is the legal part of  Azerbaijan. The whole world recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as an  integral part of Azerbaijan. We will not agree to create a second  fictional Armenian state on historically owned lands.  The  territorial integrity of Azerbaijan should be restored, the UN  Security Council resolutions must be observed, the occupation forces  of Armenia must be unconditionally withdrawn from all occupied  territories. Then there will be peace, and the situation will be  considered stable, "Aliyev said. At the same time, the Azerbaijani  leader stressed that the conflict is a constant threat to regional  security and stability: "I think that in the coming month the main  area of activity of the Minsk Group, - probably, you know that they  are planning to make a trip to the region,- there should be more  pressure on the occupation regime of Armenia so that it respects the  norms of international law. 

One of the reasons for the unresolved conflict is the absence of  pressure on the aggressor at the international level. If sanctions  were imposed against Armenia, serious sanctions would be imposed  against a country that grossly violated the norms of international  law and humanitarian norms, perhaps the conflict would have been  settled long ago. Such a moderate policy of the international  community in relation to Armenia creates in them such an idea that  they can continue to illegally stay on our lands, and this is one of  the reasons. However, I think that they should understand that this  will not happen. Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity. I  do not doubt this. The question is that we want to do this  peacefully, "Aliyev assured.

He also noted that Armenia is returning to the negotiation process,  which is an extremely important issue.  "Their policy aimed at  boycotting negotiations was, firstly, unintelligent, and secondly -  Ineffective. As far as I know, the Armenian government received  messages from various sources, including from Europe, about the fact  that this country can not behave in this way. Today I believe that  the negotiation format should be renewed. In a few days I will meet  with the ambassadors of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries and  we will discuss further negotiations, as well as a possible meeting  at the level of the presidents. As for the issue of the approach to  the conflict, our expectations, in particular, from the Eastern  Partnership Summit, are that the European Commission should  demonstrate a unified approach to all conflicts in the post-Soviet  space. Otherwise, we will fairly justly take this as an approach from  the standpoint of double standards. Therefore, it is very important  that the issue of territorial integrity be clearly stated in the text  of the final declaration related to Nagorno-Karabakh, "Aliyev  concluded.