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AZERBAIJAN WILL NEVER ACCEPT KARABAKH'S SECESSION - PRESIDENT
Interfax News Agency
March 20 2008
Russia
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the fate of
Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagornyy Karabakh will never be
decided in a plebiscite.
"The issue of Nagornyy Karabakh breaking away from Azerbaijan in five,
10 or 100 years, either in a plebiscite, as a result of any popular
vote or in any other way, has never existed and will not exist," Aliyev
said in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax on 20 March.
"We will not accept any status [for Nagornyy Karabakh] outside the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," he added.
Aliyev also said Azerbaijan is pleased with the results of the recent
vote at the UN General Assembly on the new resolution on Karabakh.
"We regard the resolution as another diplomatic and political success
of Azerbaijan," the agency quoted him as saying.
At the same time, Ilham Aliyev criticized the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chair countries for voting against the resolution. "I think as
co-chair countries they should have abstained [from voting]. We did
not expect that they would vote for [the resolution], but thought
they would abstain," he said. "The vote showed that although some
co-chair countries actively lobbied and campaigned among UN member
states in order to persuade them to join them, this attempt failed.
The co-chair countries are the world's leading countries, nuclear
powers and UN Security Council members, and who supported them?
Vanuatu? Angola? This shows the mood of the world community. This shows
that justice does exist in the world," the Azerbaijani president said.
Commenting on the recent unrest in Armenia, Aliyev said that
"what happened in Armenia both during and after the [19 February
presidential] election is a result of Armenia's aggressive and
occupying policy against Azerbaijan. If there was peace in the Caucasus
and Azerbaijan and Armenia were not at war, the events there would
have developed according to a different scenario."
President Aliyev stressed that his country has chosen democracy and
development. "We have chosen the path of democracy, social justice,
development and integration in the region and are successfully
following this path," he said. "Armenia has chosen the path of
isolationism, aggression, occupation of someone else's territories,
violation of the principles of international law and a policy of ethnic
cleansing. You can see for yourselves what this has resulted in. If
in Xocali [an Azerbaijani-populated town in Nagornyy Karabakh where
ethnic Azerbaijanis were massacred in 1992] they committed genocide
against the Azerbaijani nation, then after the election in Armenia
they committed a crime against the Armenian nation," he said.
At the same time, Ilham Aliyev praised Azerbaijan's economic
development, saying that the country's GDP has grown by 86 per cent in
the past four years, "which made it possible to accumulate sufficient
financial resources and pursue an intensive social policy".
Aliyev stressed that he kept all his election promises, reducing
unemployment and providing refugees with accommodation. He said that
650,000 jobs have been created in the country and the level of poverty
has fallen from 49 to 16 per cent.
Ilham Aliyev went on to say that Azerbaijan has no plans to seek NATO
membership. "Azerbaijan believes that membership of any organization
requires mutual agreement. We are not planning to impose ourselves
on anyone," he said.
"We are ensuring our own security, we are a self-sufficient country
in terms of economy, politics and energy. Therefore, we believe that
relations should be based on equality, mutual respect and interest.
Our current level of cooperation with NATO suits us," Interfax quoted
Aliyev as saying. "Proceeding from the current situation, the issue
of Azerbaijan's membership of NATO is not on the agenda," he said.
Aliyev described the country's increasing military spending as
natural. He said that over the past four years, Azerbaijan's budget
has grown tenfold and reached 12bn dollars in 2008 while the country's
military expenditure has increased to 1.3bn dollars.
Azerbaijan will develop a "powerful military-industrial complex to
ensure its security in the future", the Azerbaijani president said.
Ilham Aliyev also said that he wants Azerbaijan to be a developed
country, adding that oil revenues will make this possible. "We
expect the implementation of energy projects to yield hundred of
billions of dollars - if previously we said [that this would happen]
in the next 20 years, now [we say] in 10 years. And all this gives
an opportunity to carry out both political and economic reforms,
strengthen the country's international position and look to the
future. We see Azerbaijan in the future as a developed, democratic and
modern state where people live in peace, accord and social justice,"
Interfax quoted Ilham Aliyev as saying.
Interfax News Agency
March 20 2008
Russia
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the fate of
Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagornyy Karabakh will never be
decided in a plebiscite.
"The issue of Nagornyy Karabakh breaking away from Azerbaijan in five,
10 or 100 years, either in a plebiscite, as a result of any popular
vote or in any other way, has never existed and will not exist," Aliyev
said in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax on 20 March.
"We will not accept any status [for Nagornyy Karabakh] outside the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," he added.
Aliyev also said Azerbaijan is pleased with the results of the recent
vote at the UN General Assembly on the new resolution on Karabakh.
"We regard the resolution as another diplomatic and political success
of Azerbaijan," the agency quoted him as saying.
At the same time, Ilham Aliyev criticized the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chair countries for voting against the resolution. "I think as
co-chair countries they should have abstained [from voting]. We did
not expect that they would vote for [the resolution], but thought
they would abstain," he said. "The vote showed that although some
co-chair countries actively lobbied and campaigned among UN member
states in order to persuade them to join them, this attempt failed.
The co-chair countries are the world's leading countries, nuclear
powers and UN Security Council members, and who supported them?
Vanuatu? Angola? This shows the mood of the world community. This shows
that justice does exist in the world," the Azerbaijani president said.
Commenting on the recent unrest in Armenia, Aliyev said that
"what happened in Armenia both during and after the [19 February
presidential] election is a result of Armenia's aggressive and
occupying policy against Azerbaijan. If there was peace in the Caucasus
and Azerbaijan and Armenia were not at war, the events there would
have developed according to a different scenario."
President Aliyev stressed that his country has chosen democracy and
development. "We have chosen the path of democracy, social justice,
development and integration in the region and are successfully
following this path," he said. "Armenia has chosen the path of
isolationism, aggression, occupation of someone else's territories,
violation of the principles of international law and a policy of ethnic
cleansing. You can see for yourselves what this has resulted in. If
in Xocali [an Azerbaijani-populated town in Nagornyy Karabakh where
ethnic Azerbaijanis were massacred in 1992] they committed genocide
against the Azerbaijani nation, then after the election in Armenia
they committed a crime against the Armenian nation," he said.
At the same time, Ilham Aliyev praised Azerbaijan's economic
development, saying that the country's GDP has grown by 86 per cent in
the past four years, "which made it possible to accumulate sufficient
financial resources and pursue an intensive social policy".
Aliyev stressed that he kept all his election promises, reducing
unemployment and providing refugees with accommodation. He said that
650,000 jobs have been created in the country and the level of poverty
has fallen from 49 to 16 per cent.
Ilham Aliyev went on to say that Azerbaijan has no plans to seek NATO
membership. "Azerbaijan believes that membership of any organization
requires mutual agreement. We are not planning to impose ourselves
on anyone," he said.
"We are ensuring our own security, we are a self-sufficient country
in terms of economy, politics and energy. Therefore, we believe that
relations should be based on equality, mutual respect and interest.
Our current level of cooperation with NATO suits us," Interfax quoted
Aliyev as saying. "Proceeding from the current situation, the issue
of Azerbaijan's membership of NATO is not on the agenda," he said.
Aliyev described the country's increasing military spending as
natural. He said that over the past four years, Azerbaijan's budget
has grown tenfold and reached 12bn dollars in 2008 while the country's
military expenditure has increased to 1.3bn dollars.
Azerbaijan will develop a "powerful military-industrial complex to
ensure its security in the future", the Azerbaijani president said.
Ilham Aliyev also said that he wants Azerbaijan to be a developed
country, adding that oil revenues will make this possible. "We
expect the implementation of energy projects to yield hundred of
billions of dollars - if previously we said [that this would happen]
in the next 20 years, now [we say] in 10 years. And all this gives
an opportunity to carry out both political and economic reforms,
strengthen the country's international position and look to the
future. We see Azerbaijan in the future as a developed, democratic and
modern state where people live in peace, accord and social justice,"
Interfax quoted Ilham Aliyev as saying.