Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has expressed confidence that Nagorno-Karabakh will soon be liberated from Armenian forces.
"Karabakh is ancient Azerbaijani land and I do not doubt that it will be liberated," Ilham Aliyev told the annual session of the Islamic Development Bank group in Baku today.
The president described the Armenian occupation of Karabakh and the surrounding districts as "the major, most painful problem of Azerbaijan in the whole period of independence", Interfax-Azerbaijannews agency reported.
"The conflict can be settled only within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," the head of state said.
He said that the basis for this had been laid by resolutions of the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe and Organization of the Islamic Conference. "However, Armenia does not take into account the resolutions of international organizations and continues the occupation of Azerbaijani land."
Ilham Aliyev thanked the Islamic countries attending the session in Baku for their support for Azerbaijan's position on resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
The president's remarks follow an increase in clashes along the contact line separating Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces. In one major incident, at least five soldiers, four from the Karabakh armed forces and one from Azerbaijan, died in a clash on 18 June, while three soldiers were killed in incidents on 16 and 21 June.
The Armenian president and foreign minister blamed the 18 June clash on Baku. President Serzh Sargsyan accused Azerbaijan of organizing a "provocation" just hours after Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had met in St Petersburg with the mediation of Russia's president, Dmitriy Medvedev.
The contact line, running through Azerbaijani territory, separates Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. The troops hold the positions they had when a cease-fire was declared in the Karabakh war in 1994.
News.Az
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