NO MORE CONCESSIONS FOR ARMENIA – AZERI PRESIDENT

Interfax News Agency
July 8 2008
Russia

Baku can make no further concessions to Armenia in the settlement of
the problem of Nagorno Karabakh, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has said.

"We have made all imaginable concessions already and we are prepared
to give Nagorno Karabakh the highest status of an autonomy.

Beyond this, no more concessions can be made," Aliyev told the Azeri
diplomatic corps in Baku.

"The demand that we make even more concessions is a blow on the
talks. Our position is well known and we’ll not step an inch from
these positions," Aliyev said in a speech televised by the state
channel AzTV.

"We expect the other party, pursuing an occupation policy with regards
to Azerbaijan, to abide by international law and leave our territory
on its own. Otherwise, other means could be used. Azerbaijan has
every right to do so," he said.

The Karabakh conflict will be settled based on Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity, he said. "This position rests on international law, on
history and on Azerbaijan’s expanding capabilities," the president
said.