Occupied territories must be liberated – Azeri leader

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
2 Apr 04

[Presenter] Azerbaijan will not cede its territories under any
circumstances, President Ilham Aliyev said in an exclusive interview
with ATV.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has tried to manipulate the
Nagornyy Karabakh issue again in order to stop opposition protests
against Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. By saying that Armenia
and Nagornyy Karabakh are one country, he is trying to soothe the
opposition.

[Correspondent] Nagornyy Karabakh will neither become part of Armenia,
nor an independent entity, Aliyev said commenting on Oskanyan’s
remarks. Countering the accusations levelled by the opposition against
Kocharyan, Oskanyan had said that Nagornyy Karabakh and Armenia are
one country and one nation. By using the term Karabakh clan, the
opposition insults its countrymen living in Karabakh and attempts to
pit Nagornyy Karabakh and Armenia against each other, Oskanyan
said. He called on the opposition to give up its attempts to disrupt
stability in Armenia. This may weaken Yerevan’s position in the
Nagornyy Karabakh talks, he said.

In turn, Ilham Aliyev said that although Armenia has not given up its
claims from the outset of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the conflict
will eventually be resolved in favour of Azerbaijan.

[Ilham Aliyev interviewed outdoors] Nagornyy Karabakh will neither
become part of Armenia, nor an independent entity. Nagornyy Karabakh
is an integral part of Azerbaijan. The occupied territories of
Azerbaijan, including Nagornyy Karabakh, must be liberated because the
norms of international law have to be applied everywhere. I am sure
that this issue will be resolved as well.