About 20,000 Armenians settled in occupied districts – Azeri official

ANS TV, Baku
8 Mar 05

[Presenter] Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has
revealed the number of Armenians who have illegally settled in the
occupied districts. The diplomat gave this information commenting on
a report by the Armenian newspaper Azg about the next meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.

[Correspondent over video of a press conference] The next meeting of
the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders might take place on the sidelines
of a summit of the Council of Europe member states in Warsaw on 16
or 17 May. [Armenian] Aykakan Zhamanak newspaper has reported that
it will be suggested at the meeting that [Armenian President] Robert
Kocharyan withdraw the Armenian armed forces from some of Azerbaijan’s
occupied districts.

It is also said that for this reason, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan deliberately missed the 2 March meeting in Prague with his
Azerbaijani counterpart, the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group and
the members of the OSCE fact-finding mission.

Azg does not rule out that at some stage of the Prague negotiations,
Armenia and Azerbaijan could sign an interim agreement on the pull-out
of the Armenian troops from five occupied districts. In return,
Nagornyy Karabakh will be temporarily placed under the jurisdiction
of Armenia.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov did not rule out
that the presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan, might meet
in Warsaw. He also said that the foreign ministers usually meet to
prepare a meeting between the heads of state. However, Vardan Oskanyan
created obstacles to that meeting by failing to go to Prague, although
it is necessary to hold not just one, but several meetings between
the foreign ministers in the run-up to the presidents’ meeting,
Azimov said.

It is no news that the Armenian side will be required to withdraw
from the occupied territories. Araz Azimov said that this demand is
put forward at every meeting in any case, because the settlement of
the conflict depends on several principled demands of the Azerbaijani
side. He stressed that these demands are that Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity should be ensured, foreign forces should be pulled out from
the occupied territories and the Azerbaijani population should return
to their places of residence.

The Azerbaijani diplomat described the Armenian media reports in the
run-up to the Warsaw meeting as a trick aimed at taking soundings
of people’s opinion in Armenia. He said that Yerevan usually resorts
to such methods when the negotiations enter an important stage. This
time the information leak is meant for internal consumption as well.

The Azerbaijani official said that Armenia has lately suffered
several diplomatic setbacks in a row. In this context, he recalled
the figures which have been obtained by the OSCE fact-finding mission
and which prove the illegal settlement of Armenians in Azerbaijan’s
occupied districts. Mr Azimov said that 8,000 Armenians are living
in Lacin District, 3,000 in the town of Lacin, 2,700 in Kalbacar
District and 500 to 700 Armenians are living in other districts.
Quoting the fact-finding mission, the deputy minister said that at
least 20,000 Armenians have settled in these territories. He said
that Yerevan should consider moving these families to Armenia.

The representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated once
again that the unconditional pull-out of the Armenian troops from the
occupied districts is Baku’s principled position and is not a subject
of bargaining. The diplomat also denied that Azerbaijan will give up
its principled position in return for the pull-out of the troops.
From: Baghdasarian