Azerbaijan appreciates attention to Karabakh problem-spokesman

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
July 18, 2006 Tuesday

By Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman

Official Baku appreciates attention of the world community to
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as reflected in a statement
by G8 leaders at the summit in St. Petersburg, Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry spokesman Tair Tagizade said.

"This is a positive fact. We always called and we call on the world
community and its leaders to activate actions to resolve the Karabakh
problem," he told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.

At the same time, the call by the G8 leaders on the parties in the
conflict "to prepare their people for peace, and not for war" causes
"some cautiousness" of Azerbaijan, Tagizade added.

He said he doubted "ethics of putting forward equal demands to both
sides, one of which, namely Azerbaijan, is a victim of aggression".

"Azerbaijan preserves commitment to a peaceful settlement of the
conflict," Tagizade said.

He stated that the activity of the Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh,
whose co-chairmen are G8 countries Russia, France and the US, "is
a necessary component of successful progress of the peace talks"
between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"At the same time, we cannot afford holding talks for the sake of
talks. If diplomatic efforts do not yield results, our country has the
sovereign right to restore its territorial integrity," Tagizade said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress