Azeri president hails Council of Europe resolution on Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
26 Jan 05

[Presenter] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regards as victory the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution which was
adopted at its winter session on 25 January.

[Ilham Aliyev interviewed by journalists] Of course, I regard this as
a big victory for us. It was our wish that the Council of Europe
prepare this report and pass a resolution on the basis of the report
which would reflect the Armenian policy of invasion, criticize Armenia
as an aggressor state and use the term separatist forces. In a
nutshell, a document which would reflect all the Armenian aggression
against Azerbaijan, including the ethnic cleansing and other issues.

Armenia has always been against it, employed all means possible to
avert this discussion and sought to incorporate changes into the
resolution. This was a process. Of course, I cannot say that I am 100
per cent satisfied with the resolution. But I am satisfied by about 90
per cent. If you take a look at Armenia’s reaction, you will see that
they are very upset at the adoption of this resolution because this
explains to the world once again the crux of the conflict.

This signifies a political assessment of the conflict. We expected
nothing else from the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe does
not have other mechanisms. This is simply a very important forum which
can give a political assessment of the conflict.