Defense Minister says Recent Meeting of Armenian and Azeri Presidents
Raises Hope

BakuToday
23/09/2004 10:49

On Tuesday, Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev received
Philip Dimitrov, the OSCE chairman’s special envoy on Azerbaijan and
Armenia.

AssA-Irada — General Abiyev said that the meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents recently held in Astana, Kazakhstan raises a hope
for peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. `We think that
Armenia, which ignores the UN Security Councilâ=80=99s four
resolutions on the conflict, should be made do this. The conflict must
be settled soon within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as the
security of huge economic projects implemented in Azerbaijan with
close participation of European countries and the USA demands this,’
Abiyev underlined.

Noting that the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh
should be solved within international legal norms and Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, General Abiyev said that Armenia should
unconditionally withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan’s occupied
lands. Or else, Azerbaijan will be made to liberate its territory from
occupiers, he stressed.