Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 30 2007
Aliyev: Garabagh talks fruitless so far
AssA-Irada 30/01/2007 01:33
The talks on settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh
conflict have unfortunately produced no results so far, President
Ilham Aliyev has said.
The lack of progress is due to Armenia’s non-constructive position,
as Yerevan is persistently breaching numerous provisions of
international law and continues to occupy Azerbaijani territories,
Aliyev told France’s Le Figaro newspaper.
The head of state noted that one million Azerbaijanis have become
refugees and internally displaced persons in the wake of Armenia’s
aggression and ethnic cleansing.
`Armenians’ efforts to break Upper Garabagh away from Azerbaijan will
yield no fruit. They must realize that this will never happen,’ he
said.
President Aliyev said Azerbaijan would never agree on the
independence of Upper Garabagh. Armenians are being offered only a
high autonomy within Azerbaijan, which is in line with the existing
international practices.
`What we offer is a high autonomy within Azerbaijani borders. But
they don’t agree with this and instead rely on international support,
which is increasingly dwindling,’ the president said.
The head of state said Armenians in Upper Garabagh are also relying
on the Armenian lobby, which supports Armenia’s aggressive acts
carried out in different countries.
Recalling the Rambouillet talks on Garabagh held on the initiative of
French President Jacques Chirac, President Aliyev said his Armenian
counterpart Robert Kocharian left them unexpectedly shortly before
the final stage of negotiations.
`We met on the first day and were to meet again the following day.
President Chirac was also to join the discussions. However, the
Armenian president left the talks half-way providing vague reasons.
This is a clear manifestation of their policy,’ the president said.
Asked whether the deployment of international peacekeepers in Upper
Garabagh was on the agenda, Aliyev said that if Armenia withdraws its
troops from the occupied territories, peacekeeping operations may be
carried out for some time to ensure the security of Armenians in
Upper Garabagh.
Upper Garabagh has been occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire
ended separatist hostilities that killed 30,000 and displaced about a
million people. Peace talks are brokered by the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France.