AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY VITAL IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

ITAR-TASS
Aug 6 2008
Russia

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.