AZERBAIJAN NOT TO MAKE ANY COMPROMISES IN ENSURING ITS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY: MINISTER OF DEFENCE
Trend News Agency
May 29 2008
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, Baku , 29 May /corr. Trend News E.Huseynli /
Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defence said that Azerbaijan will not make
any compromises in ensuring its territorial integrity. "If Armenia
will be continuing to deny peaceful settlement of the problem,
categorically Azerbaijan will not agree with it and will release its
lands. Armenia should understand it forever," Azerbaijan’s Minister
of Defence, General-Colonel Safar Abiyev, said during his meeting
with the Commander of Defense Forces of Estonia, General-Lieutenant
Ants Laaneots, who is on visit to Baku.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries appeared in 1988
due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia has
occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding districts. Since 1992 to the present
time, these territories have been under Armenian occupation. In 1994,
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time
the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
(Russia, France and USA) are holding peaceful negotiations.
Abiyev said that Armenia, who presents obstacles to the peaceful
settlement of the conflict, does not fulfill requirements of the
Resolutions being adopted by the UN Security Council. The Minister
said that the experience gained by Estonia as a member of NATO is of
great interest for Azerbaijan.
In his turn, Commander of Defense Forces of Estonia said that
development of the relations corresponds to the interests of
both countries. Touching upon the conflict, the guest said that
re-establishing the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is the
principal position for Estonia, and said that the occupied lands are
integral part of Azerbaijan.
Commander of Defense Forces of Estonia, General-Lieutenant Ants
Laaneots, arrived in Baku on 29 May with an official visit at
invitation of his Azerbaijani colleague.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress