Interfax, Russia
Nov 20 2008

Aliyev calls for political decision on Armenian-occupied territories
in Nagorno-Karabakh

BAKU Nov 20

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has urged the Armenian leadership to make
a political decision on the liberation of occupied Azeri territories.

In his speech at an international conference, Azerbaijan in the 21st
Century – a Strategy of Success, Aliyev praised the role of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev in mediating the Moscow Declaration signed
by the Azeri and Armenian presidents.

"The declaration determines mechanisms for a settlement in compliance
with international law and UN decisions and stipulates guarantees at
each stage, which means a stage-by-stage settlement, something
Azerbaijan has always advocated," he said.

"The meaning of this declaration is that its signatories – Armenia and
Azerbaijan – are parties to the conflict. There are no other parties
involved. The Armenian leader put down his signature to confirm this.

But a declaration is not enough, what is also needed is political
will, above all on the part of Armenia, to make a correct decision,
namely, to pull out of all territories that have never belonged, do
not belong and will not belong to Armenia. And then peace in the
Caucasus will be much quicker to achieve," Aliyev said.

Touching upon Azeri-Russian relations, he described them as neighborly
and strategic and underlined their significance for both countries as
well as for the development of the Caucasian-Caspian region in
general.