Azeri leader urges world public to increase pressure on Armenia

Lider TV, Baku
7 Jul 04

The Azerbaijani leader has urged the international public to increase
pressure on Armenia over the Karabakh conflict and to step up efforts
aimed at finding a speedy solution to the problem. In an interview
with the French magazine Le Lettre Diplomatique, he said that
organized international crime groups are active in Karabakh and
described the area as a great source of threat to security in the
South Caucasus. Aliyev added that peace and security in the region
could only be restored after solving the Karabakh conflict and
removing foreign bases from the South Caucasus. The following is the
text of report by Azerbaijani TV station Lider on 7 July. Subheadings
have been inserted editorially:

[Presenter] The international public should increase pressure on
Armenia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said in an interview
with the French magazine La Lettre Diplomatique. The head of state
urged international organizations to actively express their positions
on the Karabakh solution.

Leader calls for international attention to Karabakh conflict

[Correspondent, over video of Aliyev, giving interview in his office]
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagornyy Karabakh has turned
into an obstacle to stability not only in our country, but also in the
South Caucasus region, which generally plays an important role in
Europe’s security structure. This is the greatest source of threat to
the region. For this reason, the international public should devote
more attention to a settlement of the conflict, President Ilham Aliyev
said in an interview with the French magazine La Lettre Diplomatique.

According to him, organized international crime groups are active in
the territories which are beyond the international public’s control
and have turned the area into an area of lawlessness. Armenia is
continuing its aggressive policy today as well.

The head of state did not conceal his dissatisfaction with the OSCE
Minsk Group’s activities. Despite the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group,
under the chairmanship of the USA, France and Russia, is dealing with
a settlement to the conflict, no changes were recorded in this sphere
and the conflict remains unresolved. From this viewpoint, we hope that
other international organizations will pay more attention to the
issue, end of quote.

The Azerbaijani president said that the fact of occupation of
Azerbaijani lands has been recorded in numerous resolutions, decisions
and other official documents adopted by the Council of Europe, the
European Union and other international organizations. However, it is
important that all foreign organizations, and the international public
step up their efforts to reach a speedy solution to the conflict.

Peace in South Caucasus impossible without Karabakh solution

President Ilham Aliyev said that the problem should be resolved within
the framework of international legal norms. Armenia’s claims that the
conflict should be resolved in line with the right of nations to
self-determination cannot be accepted, because the Armenian people’s
right to self-determination has already been ensured and the state of
Armenia has been set up. It is easy to imagine what may happen if the
Armenians living in different countries in the world would want their
right to self-determination to be ensured by those countries, end of
quote.

President Aliyev said that the Armenian leadership often calls for
economic ties with Azerbaijan. However, this is absurd. No state in
the world can cooperate with another state which has occupied part of
its territory. Armenia is on the sidelines of international economic
projects carried out in the region as a result of its aggressive
policy only. No country’s foreign bases exist in Azerbaijan, President
Aliyev stressed, adding that if the other countries of the South
Caucasus could do the same, we would soon be able to establish peace
and security in our region. We want to live in peace and develop our
economy and country. We wish to live in an atmosphere of peace,
stability and prosperity in the South Caucasus region.

It is impossible to achieve this until the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Nagornyy Karabakh is resolved. Therefore, the
international community should increase its efforts to stop Armenia’s
aggression against Azerbaijan, end quote.