Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that Armenian attempts to frustrate talks on Karabakh increase the likelihood of a military solution.
He made the remarks at the opening ceremony of Azerbaijan's State Border Service Academy today, Interfax-Azerbaijan reported, quoting state-run AzTV.
The president said that Baku's position in the negotiating process on the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was strengthening, but that if the talks were frustrated, the situation would change and the settlement of the problem by force would be put on the agenda.
Talks to resolve the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to be making little progress.
The OSCE mediators on the conflict gave a downbeat assessment of the last round of talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers on 17 July. The mediators said that neither side had made sufficient effort to overcome their differences.
It is not the first time that the Azerbaijani president has said that the conflict could be settled by force. He told a government meeting on 13 July that he would prefer a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but that Azerbaijan should always be ready for a military solution too. He has made similar remarks on other occasions too.
The president said today that Azerbaijani border guards faced major objectives in resolving the Karabakh conflict.
"I am glad that the State Border Service of Azerbaijan has been able to occupy a worthy place on the world arena and accomplish great achievements in the protection of Azerbaijani borders. We must keep our attention focused on this issue and ensure the protection of Azerbaijan's borders. Certainly, additional funds will be allocated in future and new technical capacities will be reached," Aliyev said.
The president said that huge work had already been done on improving the border service. "Today the border troops are a very strong and mobile military unit," he said.
News.Az
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