ITAR-TASS
Azerbaijani territorial integrity vital in Karabakh settlement
05.08.2008
BAKU, August 5 (Itar-Tass) — The Karabakh conflict must be resolved within
the territorially integral Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said at the
Tuesday meeting of the national government.
`The main essence of the settlement negotiations is the restoration of the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We do not discuss any options outside
this framework,’ he said.
It is possible to discuss the future status of Karabakh, the president said.
`However, no status is possible without consent of the Azerbaijani state.
Azerbaijan will never grant Karabakh with any status outside its territorial
integrity. This is known by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Cochairmen
[Russia, the United States and France],’ he said.
There is no document at the negotiations, which could make Karabakh
independent, Aliyev said. `There is no mechanism of Karabakh’s secession
from Azerbaijan, and there cannot be any,’ he said.
The problem can have only a legal solution, the president said. `Azerbaijan
will not waive its rights an inch. It will mobilize all the resources and
work on the soonest settlement with due account of all international norms,’
he said.
Aliyev said they should intensify diplomatic, political, economic,
propaganda and military efforts in order to resolve the Karabakh problem as
soon as possible.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers held consultations with the
OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen in Moscow on Friday, August 1.
It is still a long way to the Karabakh settlement, Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said after the consultations.
`We attentively listened to the Armenian side. It is still a long way to a
breakthrough, but we have agreed to continue negotiations,’ he said.
`The negotiations were useful. We discussed remaining problems,’ the
minister noted.
Mamedyarov said that the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents might hold
another meeting. `Everything depends on consultations between the two
foreign ministers,’ he said. `If we find a common ground, nothing will be
impossible.’
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian did not go into the meeting’s
details. `If we tell details to the media, it will be hard to make further
progress,’ he said. `There are delicate issues, and we must be careful in
order not to create additional impediments. The Moscow meeting confirmed
that the sides were trying to create proper conditions for further
negotiations.’
The sides agreed that the problem must be resolved gradually, Mamedyarov
said. `We are neighbors, and we must resolve Karabakh problems,’ Nalbandian
said. `I am sure we can resolve any problems with political will. The spirit
of the negotiations is positive and constructive.’
The OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen lauded the Moscow meeting of the Armenian
and Azerbaijani foreign ministers.
`The meeting was very constructive. Both ministers were satisfied,’ Russian
Cochairman Yuri Merzlyakov said. He abstained from forecasts about the
possible Karabakh settlement deadline, but lauded the activity of the OSCE
Minsk Group. `That was the third meeting of the ministers in the past three
months,’ he said.
U.S. Cochairman Matthew Bryza said that it was possible to resolve the
Karabakh problem in case of a political will of both sides. He said their
mission was to build up confidence and to promote the negotiations.
Bryza said that the Karabakh situation was still difficult but some progress
had been made. He recalled the Madrid proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group,
which started current consultations. Bryza also said that the possible
Karabakh sovereignty would be a question of referendum.