Azerbaijani president pushes for a U.N. resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh
by AIDA SULTANOVA; Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Worldstream
November 22, 2004 Monday 12:03 PM Eastern Time
NEFT DASHLARI, Azerbaijan — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev
said Monday he will push for a U.N. resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh
that reflects international recognition of his nation’s territorial
integrity.
“We will not be content solely with discussion. We want to see a new
resolution passed,” Aliev said. The United Nations’ General Assembly
is to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Tuesday.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave, has been de facto
independent. Armenian-backed forces won control over the territory
in 1994. Some 30,000 people were killed and a million others were
driven from their homes in the 1988-94 war.
Despite a cease-fire, Armenian-backed forces and Azerbaijani troops
continue to face off across a demilitarized zone, and shooting
occasionally erupts.
In 1993 the General Assembly passed four resolutions demanding
the withdrawal of occupation forces and the return of refugees to
Azerbaijan. However, none of the resolutions has been enforced.
Aliev voiced hope Monday that the new resolution would help solve
the conflict.
“We are trying to increase the number of countries supporting us,
and I am convinced that the role of the resolution will be decisive,”
Aliev said.
He also accused Armenia of hampering the adoption of the resolution
and stalling negotiation efforts. Aliev said Azerbaijan would only be
too glad to see Armenia drop out of the talks and leave negotiations
to Nagorno-Karabakh.
“If Armenia suggests conducting negotiations with Nagorno-Karabakh, let
it … withdraw its occupation forces from Azerbaijan’s territory and
stop providing resources to separatists from its budget. Then we will
solve the Karabakh problem in the shortest period of time,” Aliev said.
He also expressed hope that the Council of Europe, Europe’s top
human rights body, would give “a political evaluation” to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress