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Azeri leader vows not to give up Karabakh, calls for "constructive"
opposition
ANS TV, Baku
13 Dec 04
Excerpt from report by Azerbaijani TV station ANS on 13 December
[Presenter] ANS's special correspondent in London Ali Ahmadov is on
the line. He will give us the details about the [Azerbaijani]
president's visit to Great Britain. Here you are, Ali.
[Ali Ahmadov, by phone] Good evening, Leyla. As you said before,
President Ilham Aliyev had his first meeting today with the Queen's
representative [a member of the House of Lords], Baroness
Seccombe. That was just a brief meeting.
[Passage omitted: reported details of meeting with the British defence
secretary]
At a meeting [with Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon] they
discussed the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict as well. President Ilham
Aliyev told the British defence secretary about the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict and the consequences of it not being resolved. They exchanged
views on the ways of settling it.
The president's meeting at Chatham House [the UK Royal Institute of
International Affairs], which ended a few minutes ago, was the most
interesting one today. Influential politicians use this organization
to exchange views. The president spoke about Azerbaijan and, in
particular, about Nagornyy Karabakh. Then the participants [in the
meeting] asked the president questions. The president said that the
main problem for Azerbaijan is the issue of Nagornyy Karabakh, 20 per
cent of which are under occupation. There are about 1m of refugees and
they live in appalling conditions.
The most interesting fact was that the Armenian ambassador to Britain
asked the president about a settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. It was a rather aggressive question. The president was asked
whether Azerbaijan intends to attack Nagornyy Karabakh. The president
strongly reacted to this. He said that Armenia is an aggressor state
and that it's position in talks with Azerbaijan is not
constructive. This makes the talks fruitless. Azerbaijan does not want
to continue the talks just for the sake of them. Azerbaijan might stop
the talks if it sees that they yield no results. The president said if
the point is the liberation of lands, then the Armenians might check
the Soviet encyclopedia as many areas in Armenia have Azeri
placenames, but Azerbaijan lays no claims to any of them.
As for the liberation of lands, the president said if the talks with
Armenia yield no results and if Armenia refuses to vacate the lands
following the talks, Azerbaijan would, itself, liberate the
lands. Vacate our lands, otherwise we will do this ourselves, end of
quote.
The president clarified another issue as well. Commenting on the
freight transported to Georgia via Azerbaijan and the freight checks,
he said that when it joined the TRACECA [Transport Corridor
Europe-Caucasus-Asia] corridor, Azerbaijan set a condition that the
freight transported through Azerbaijan should never go to
Armenia. However, according to recent reports, the cargo has recently
been sent to Armenia via Georgia. The freight needed to be checked
thoroughly after Azerbaijan received this information. The cargo
mainly comes from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
The president said that as long as the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
not resolved, not a gram of freight transported via Azerbaijan will go
to Armenia and that all the cargo and it's final destination will be
checked.
Moreover, the president was asked about his internal policy,
specifically about democratic processes in Azerbaijan and his attitude
to the opposition. He said that the country needs a new opposition
force. He said the opposition should be more constructive and that the
existing opposition is destructive and cannot engage in constructive
negotiations with the authorities.
[Presenter] Thank you very much, Ali.
opposition
ANS TV, Baku
13 Dec 04
Excerpt from report by Azerbaijani TV station ANS on 13 December
[Presenter] ANS's special correspondent in London Ali Ahmadov is on
the line. He will give us the details about the [Azerbaijani]
president's visit to Great Britain. Here you are, Ali.
[Ali Ahmadov, by phone] Good evening, Leyla. As you said before,
President Ilham Aliyev had his first meeting today with the Queen's
representative [a member of the House of Lords], Baroness
Seccombe. That was just a brief meeting.
[Passage omitted: reported details of meeting with the British defence
secretary]
At a meeting [with Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon] they
discussed the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict as well. President Ilham
Aliyev told the British defence secretary about the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict and the consequences of it not being resolved. They exchanged
views on the ways of settling it.
The president's meeting at Chatham House [the UK Royal Institute of
International Affairs], which ended a few minutes ago, was the most
interesting one today. Influential politicians use this organization
to exchange views. The president spoke about Azerbaijan and, in
particular, about Nagornyy Karabakh. Then the participants [in the
meeting] asked the president questions. The president said that the
main problem for Azerbaijan is the issue of Nagornyy Karabakh, 20 per
cent of which are under occupation. There are about 1m of refugees and
they live in appalling conditions.
The most interesting fact was that the Armenian ambassador to Britain
asked the president about a settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. It was a rather aggressive question. The president was asked
whether Azerbaijan intends to attack Nagornyy Karabakh. The president
strongly reacted to this. He said that Armenia is an aggressor state
and that it's position in talks with Azerbaijan is not
constructive. This makes the talks fruitless. Azerbaijan does not want
to continue the talks just for the sake of them. Azerbaijan might stop
the talks if it sees that they yield no results. The president said if
the point is the liberation of lands, then the Armenians might check
the Soviet encyclopedia as many areas in Armenia have Azeri
placenames, but Azerbaijan lays no claims to any of them.
As for the liberation of lands, the president said if the talks with
Armenia yield no results and if Armenia refuses to vacate the lands
following the talks, Azerbaijan would, itself, liberate the
lands. Vacate our lands, otherwise we will do this ourselves, end of
quote.
The president clarified another issue as well. Commenting on the
freight transported to Georgia via Azerbaijan and the freight checks,
he said that when it joined the TRACECA [Transport Corridor
Europe-Caucasus-Asia] corridor, Azerbaijan set a condition that the
freight transported through Azerbaijan should never go to
Armenia. However, according to recent reports, the cargo has recently
been sent to Armenia via Georgia. The freight needed to be checked
thoroughly after Azerbaijan received this information. The cargo
mainly comes from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
The president said that as long as the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
not resolved, not a gram of freight transported via Azerbaijan will go
to Armenia and that all the cargo and it's final destination will be
checked.
Moreover, the president was asked about his internal policy,
specifically about democratic processes in Azerbaijan and his attitude
to the opposition. He said that the country needs a new opposition
force. He said the opposition should be more constructive and that the
existing opposition is destructive and cannot engage in constructive
negotiations with the authorities.
[Presenter] Thank you very much, Ali.