“We are against the fact that the negotiations become permanent process”
“I would positively characterize this year in terms of the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. But it could be more positive,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his interview to Vesti TV channel of Russia. APA reports quoting AzerTAC that the head of state said the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan had negotiations in 2008 and a joint declaration had been signed on the settlement of the conflict.
“The document determines exactly that the conflict must be resolved basing on the principles and norms of the international law, decisions and resolutions of the international organizations. What are these decisions and resolutions? Of course, four resolutions of the UN Security Council demanding withdrawal of Armenian aggressive forces from Azerbaijan’s territory. These resolutions have not been fulfilled for about twenty years. The main question is the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, release of our lands, return of the refugees and displaced persons. Unfortunately, our hopes for 2009 were not justified as we had expected,” he said.
The head ofAzerbaijan said the joint statement signed by Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents was a significant event. “It was the first joint document after the ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. There was a hope that we would solve the problem, at least agree on the basic principles in 2009. But these hopes have not been justified, and not because of our fault. Therefore there is some optimism for 2010. The resolution of the Karabakh conflict has become one of the main topics of the international agenda. Maybe most of those who did not realize it completely before, have understood that it will be impossible to solve any of the regional problems without the resolution of Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. This is the main cause. Unless it is eliminated, it will be impossible to create favorable atmosphere for cooperation, strengthen the security measures in the region. For the settlement of this conflict Armenia must simply fulfill the UN Security Council’s resolutions and release the occupied territories around Nagorno Karabakh. After that peace and cooperation may be established in the region,” he said.
Azerbaijani President hopes that the main positions will be agreed in 2010. “But we are against the fact that the negotiations become permanent process. The negotiations have been held since 1992 — OSCE Minsk Group was established. Ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994. 15 years have passed, there is a progress, but there is no result. Therefore, we can not allow this conflict to become a frozen process. The fate of the other conflicts lasting for tens of years must not be repeated. We will never agree to it. Therefore, I consider that if Armenia demonstrates constructivism, and mainly common sense, we can advance next year,” he said.
