Azeri leader does not want to see Armenian officers arrive in Baku

Turan news agency, Baku
11 Sep 04

Barda, 11 September: The negotiations and consultations on the Karabakh
settlement will be continued and held in Astana [Kazakhstan] during
the forthcoming CIS summit, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told
journalists in Barda [central Azerbaijan] today. He said that the
negotiations will address several issues.

“Our condition is that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity must
be restored. All other issues can be resolved later. Many things
depend on how the negotiations are held,” Aliyev said.

Asked by journalists on the possible visit of Armenian officers to
Baku, Aliyev said that the event [Baku-hosted exercise] is being
held by NATO. “But if we ask Azerbaijanis whether they want Armenians
to arrive, they would say no. I do not want Armenians to come here,
either,” Aliyev said.

At the same time, he said that the existent contacts with Yerevan did
not mean a change of Azerbaijan’s position over the settlement process.
“Normalization of relations between the two countries will be possible
only when Azerbaijan’s occupied territory is liberated,” the head of
state said.

Speaking about the role of international mediators, Aliyev said that
the OSCE Minsk Group had intensified its activities and new proposals
on the settling process could emerge soon.