Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity key for Karabakh issue – community leader

ANS TV, Baku
3 Aug 06

If Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is ensured, then the country
will be satisfied with any other conditions, Nizami Bahmanov, head
of the Azerbaijani community of Nagornyy Karabakh, has said in his
comments on the latest proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

He said that previously there were discussions around the [Lacin]
corridor, but now the issue of corridor cannot be a topic of
discussions. The talk is about the functional [as heard] road of
Agdam-Xankandi-Susa-Lacin-Gorus. This is the road which will be used
by both Armenians and Azerbaijanis there.

As for the option of a stage-by-stage solution, the latest stage
can concern granting a status. Commenting on the liberation of the
occupied districts, he said that the liberation of Lacin and Kalbacar
districts at the latest stage is a possibility. Asked to what extent
it is correct to station peace-keepers before determining Nagornyy
Karabakh’s status, Bahmanov said that peacekeepers could be deployed
only after the occupation of the territories is over.

The community leader believes that the key problem for resolution of
the Nagornyy Karabakh issue is that the mediators themselves cannot
come to an agreement. In his view, the co-chairs often come up with
new ideas.