A senior official has restated Azerbaijan's position that it will restore its territorial integrity either through talks or "other options".
Ali Hasanov, head of the socio-political department at the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, said in Azerbaijan newspaper on Wednesday that Baku was determined to see the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
He blamed what he described as the non-constructive position of Armenia and the lack of serious pressure on Yerevan from the OSCE Minsk Group of mediators for the failure to resolve the conflict, Gun.Az reported.
“Expectations of resolution of the conflict do not depend entirely on us. Of course, we expect many things and these expectations are based on international law, but unfortunately, our position is only one side of the issue. The other side involves the non-constructive position of Armenia and the third side – the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group who show very weak influence and pressure.”
Hasanov set out again Azerbaijan’s position on settlement of the conflict.
“President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated his position on this issue. The restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is directly connected with the Karabakh problem. Azerbaijan will restore this integrity either through negotiations or any other options."
The formula "any other options" often refers to the use of force.
"For us, the settlement of the Karabakh conflict means the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Azerbaijan has always and will always be ready to discuss any issue within this framework,” Hasanov said.
Hasanov's comments echo remarks by Defence Minister Safar Abiyev, who said yesterday that since the OSCE Minsk Group had not produced concrete results, Azerbaijan was obliged to take back the occupied territories by other means and was, therefore, strengthening its armed forces.
Azerbaijani officials tend to refer to resolving the Karabakh conflict by "other means" when they are frustrated by lack of progress in the peace talks.
The Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made claims on the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. In a bitter war Armenian armed forces occupied a swathe of Azerbaijani land, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Despite a ceasefire in 1994, no long-term peace agreement has been reached.
The nub of the conflict remains unresolved - the competing claims of territorial integrity, which Azerbaijan insists takes precedence in the case of Karabakh, and self-determination, which Armenia wants to see for the Armenians of Karabakh.
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