Azerbaijan able to free occupied land – Defense Minister

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 2 2005

Baku, September 1, AssA-Irada — Azerbaijan is able to liberate its
territories from under Armenian occupation and will do so in the
future, Defense Minister Safar Abiyev has said.

“Armenia is an aggressor country. All countries should confirm this and
take steps aimed at freeing Azerbaijani land”, Abiyev said in a meeting
with the British ambassador to Azerbaijan Laurie Bristow and military
advisory and training group commander Hugh Persley on Thursday.

The Minister said that if the problem is not resolved soon, the
Azerbaijani people will ‘make a decision on the conflict settlement
on their own’.

The ambassador said that over two years of his activity in Azerbaijan,
he became well-versed on the gist of the conflict.

“President Ilham Aliyev’s participation in the talks is rational.

Azerbaijan is successfully working to settle the conflict. Great
Britain supports the strategic course pursued by President Aliyev and
believes the conflict should be settled based on international legal
norms. Its fair resolution is in the interests of official London
as well.”*