Tweet
PRESIDENT ALIYEV: POTENTIAL FOR PEACE TALKS REMAINS ALIVE
AzerNews Weekly
Feb 18 2009
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said the possibilities for
negotiating a settlement to the long-standing conflict with Armenia
have not yet been exhausted.
Aliyev told the Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS that resolving
the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict was possible and Azerbaijan is
focused on seeking a solution to the problem.
He emphasized that Baku was trying to intensify ongoing peace talks
and clarify future prospects for a Garabagh settlement, considering
that a new leader has recently come to power in Armenia.
"There are certain hopes for Armenia`s more constructive and realistic
approach to the issue. These expectations have emerged not only among
us, but also among the mediators dealing with settling the conflict,"
Aliyev said.
He noted that peace talks are currently underway based upon the
principles outlined in the Moscow declaration signed by Baku and
Yerevan late last year.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders signed the document on November
2, 2008 as part of talks that were hosted by Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev. Being the first document signed by the two heads of state
in the past 16 years, it called for settling the Garabagh conflict
based upon principles of international law and respective decisions
and resolutions passed so far.
"Naturally, this implies the four UN Security Council resolutions, the
UN General Assembly resolution and the OSCE Lisbon summit decision. All
these documents envision settling the conflict within Azerbaijan`s
territorial integrity," the president said.
Aliyev said, further, that the Moscow declaration also foresees
supplementing all stages of a treaty with international
guarantees. Azerbaijan has always stated that the dispute could
be resolved in stages. In other words, seven Azerbaijani districts
around Upper Garabagh, currently under Armenian occupation, must be
freed during the first stage. Azerbaijani refugees displaced during
the armed conflict in the early 1990s are to return home. Also,
the population that is living and will live in the region should be
provided with international security guarantees. During the next stage,
the legal status of Upper Garabagh is to be determined. The president
reiterated that determining the residents` status must comply with
his country`s territorial integrity.
Upper Garabagh has been occupied by Armenia since a 1994 ceasefire
ended hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted
about one million Azeris from their homes. Years of peace talks have
brought few tangible results.
However, Armenia has reiterated its claims to Upper Garabagh, with
President Serzh Sarkisian declaring that the region does not belong
to Azerbaijan.
"Garabagh will not be Azerbaijani territory. There is absolutely
no legal ground for this," he announced during a meeting with
representatives of the pro-government Prosperous Armenia party.
Sarkisian also said that the most important issue was that "the
people of Garabagh" do not want their territory to be transferred to
Azerbaijan`s control.
"Garabagh is our land, and it`s invaluable. Therefore, bargaining on
this issue is out of place," the Armenian leader said.
Baku, in turn, stated that Sarkisian`s statement is baseless.
"Azerbaijan has not put its land up for sale. The people of Upper
Garabagh are non-existent, and a non-existent nation cannot have any
desires," Khazar Ibrahim, the spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign
Ministry said, emphasizing that the population of the region consists
of both Azerbaijani and Armenian communities.
He said Sarkisian`s statement indicated that Yerevan was sticking to
its policy of aggression.
Ibrahim added that the OSCE Minsk Group - a team of diplomats brokering
a settlement to the Garabagh conflict - must respond to this statement.
AzerNews Weekly
Feb 18 2009
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said the possibilities for
negotiating a settlement to the long-standing conflict with Armenia
have not yet been exhausted.
Aliyev told the Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS that resolving
the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict was possible and Azerbaijan is
focused on seeking a solution to the problem.
He emphasized that Baku was trying to intensify ongoing peace talks
and clarify future prospects for a Garabagh settlement, considering
that a new leader has recently come to power in Armenia.
"There are certain hopes for Armenia`s more constructive and realistic
approach to the issue. These expectations have emerged not only among
us, but also among the mediators dealing with settling the conflict,"
Aliyev said.
He noted that peace talks are currently underway based upon the
principles outlined in the Moscow declaration signed by Baku and
Yerevan late last year.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders signed the document on November
2, 2008 as part of talks that were hosted by Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev. Being the first document signed by the two heads of state
in the past 16 years, it called for settling the Garabagh conflict
based upon principles of international law and respective decisions
and resolutions passed so far.
"Naturally, this implies the four UN Security Council resolutions, the
UN General Assembly resolution and the OSCE Lisbon summit decision. All
these documents envision settling the conflict within Azerbaijan`s
territorial integrity," the president said.
Aliyev said, further, that the Moscow declaration also foresees
supplementing all stages of a treaty with international
guarantees. Azerbaijan has always stated that the dispute could
be resolved in stages. In other words, seven Azerbaijani districts
around Upper Garabagh, currently under Armenian occupation, must be
freed during the first stage. Azerbaijani refugees displaced during
the armed conflict in the early 1990s are to return home. Also,
the population that is living and will live in the region should be
provided with international security guarantees. During the next stage,
the legal status of Upper Garabagh is to be determined. The president
reiterated that determining the residents` status must comply with
his country`s territorial integrity.
Upper Garabagh has been occupied by Armenia since a 1994 ceasefire
ended hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted
about one million Azeris from their homes. Years of peace talks have
brought few tangible results.
However, Armenia has reiterated its claims to Upper Garabagh, with
President Serzh Sarkisian declaring that the region does not belong
to Azerbaijan.
"Garabagh will not be Azerbaijani territory. There is absolutely
no legal ground for this," he announced during a meeting with
representatives of the pro-government Prosperous Armenia party.
Sarkisian also said that the most important issue was that "the
people of Garabagh" do not want their territory to be transferred to
Azerbaijan`s control.
"Garabagh is our land, and it`s invaluable. Therefore, bargaining on
this issue is out of place," the Armenian leader said.
Baku, in turn, stated that Sarkisian`s statement is baseless.
"Azerbaijan has not put its land up for sale. The people of Upper
Garabagh are non-existent, and a non-existent nation cannot have any
desires," Khazar Ibrahim, the spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign
Ministry said, emphasizing that the population of the region consists
of both Azerbaijani and Armenian communities.
He said Sarkisian`s statement indicated that Yerevan was sticking to
its policy of aggression.
Ibrahim added that the OSCE Minsk Group - a team of diplomats brokering
a settlement to the Garabagh conflict - must respond to this statement.