AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT SETS LIMITS TO KARABAKH COMPROMISES

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
June 29, 2006 Thursday

The deployment of foreign peacekeepers to the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict zone and a top autonomous status for Karabakh are the greatest
compromises that Baku is prepared to make on Nagorno-Karabakh,
President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting with writers on Wednesday
evening.

"Territorial integrity cannot be a subject for compromise. Yet we
may agree to the possible deployment of peacekeeping forces," he said.

"We may be ready to do that, although it is not easy to give our
consent. As you know, there are no foreign military units on the
territory of Azerbaijan. This is our firm policy," he said.

"Our position is not and will not be altered. I believe that we will
regain our lands. We have political, economic, military and every other
possibility to do that. This is the only serious problem Azerbaijan
is facing," Aliyev said.

He said they must be prepared for any solution to the Karabakh
problem. "We will never put up with the Karabakh secession from
Azerbaijan," he said.

Azerbaijan lost control over Karabakh in the 1990s in an armed conflict
with Armenia.