Lider TV, Azerbaijan
Nov 27 2008

Azeri leader says war not ruled out by Moscow declaration on Karabakh

The Azerbaijani president has said that a declaration on the Nagornyy
Karabakh peace process signed in early November will not prevent
Azerbaijan from using force to resolve the conflict.

In remarks to Italy’s Rai International TV channel, which the
Azerbaijani private TV station Lider aired on 27 November, Ilham
Aliyev said in English with superimposed Azerbaijani translation: "No
one can find in that [Azerbaijani-Armenian-Russian] declaration a
commitment by Azerbaijan to refrain from a military option [of
resolving the conflict]. The fact that it says that we think that a
political settlement must be in place does not mean that we refuse our
fundamental rights."

Aliyev said that Azerbaijan hoped for a political solution to the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, adding, however, that a military solution
could not be ruled out either.

"According to all international norms, every country has a right to
self-defence. Azerbaijan is a victim of Armenian aggression. As a
result of this aggression, it is not only Nagornyy Karabakh that is
under Armenian occupation but also seven more districts outside it in
which Armenians had never lived. Our people are suffering from this,
and therefore, while we hope for a political solution, we must at the
same time be ready to take any measures and the military way [of
conflict resolution] cannot, has never been and will never be ruled
out as a way of restoring our territorial integrity."

Aliyev added that Azerbaijan could not agree with the fact that
"Armenia has been violating the Azerbaijani people’s fundamental
rights for over two decades and nothing is happening".

Aliyev went on to say that the international community was not playing
a proper role in the resolution of the conflict.

"We hope that attention to the issue will increase, especially after
the latest developments in the Caucasus which showed how fragile peace
is," Aliyev said.

Another private TV station, Azad Azarbaycan, quoted Aliyev as saying
that the signing of the declaration by Azerbaijan and Armenia showed
that not Nagornyy Karabakh, but Armenia and Azerbaijan are the sides
to the conflict. Aliyev added that this was an important factor in
view of Armenia’s previous efforts to prove that the war is between
Nagornyy Karabakh and Azerbaijan, the TV said.

The declaration on the Nagornyy Karabakh resolution which was signed
near Moscow by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents on 2
November 2008 urges a political solution to the conflict.