Interfax News Agency, Russia
May 24 2008
BAKU TO SPELL OUT KARABAKH SETTLEMENT SUGGESTIONS – PRESIDENT …
Baku will spell out Karabakh settlement suggestions with the next few
months, President Ilham Aliyev said at a forum, which marked the 90th
anniversary of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic.
I think that we will spell out our ideas of the Karabakh settlement
within the next few months, probably by the end of this year or in
2009. It is impermissible to delay the settlement process, he said.
Azerbaijan won’t make any additional concessions, the president said.
My position is well known. I have expressed it many times. We can
resolve the problem exclusively within the limits of the Azerbaijani
territorial integrity, Aliyev said.
Some forces are trying to push Azerbaijan to make concessions.
They are applying pressure, he said. Claims of alleged problems in the
democratic development of Azerbaijan are part of this pressing.
Any pressure on the Azerbaijani government and people is totally
senseless, the president said. Our policy is clear and supported by
people. This is a principled and fair policy, he remarked.
Thanks to the strengthened position of Baku, the Azerbaijani
territorial integrity is in the focus of the negotiations, Aliyev
said.
In fact, the essence of these negotiations is the restoration of the
Azerbaijani territorial integrity and the freedom of all the occupied
lands. The negotiating parties are not considering possible ways of
Karabakh’s separation from Azerbaijan. That’s a fact. Armenian biased
and twisted statements are totally senseless, he said.
They [the Armenians] must realize that the temporary occupation of our
lands through the aggressive policy of ethnic cleansing is not
advantageous for them. This policy isolates them from regional
projects and slows down their development, he said.
Azerbaijani state expenditures are about eight times larger than the
Armenian ones, Aliyev remarked.
Azerbaijan won’t waive its position an inch. It will mount its
diplomatic, political and economic might, he said.