ARMENIAN TROOPS MUST LEAVE AZERBAIJANI LANDS TO RESOLVE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT: PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV

TREND
Feb 2 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
must be resolved based on UN Security Council resolutions calling
for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani lands, the
Azertaj state news agency quoted President Ilham Aliyev as saying in
an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Aliyev said the conflict remains unsolved despite years of
negotiations. He stressed that the issue must be solved in accordance
with international law.

"Unfortunately, Armenia does not comply with international law and
this is the main reason why the conflict has not been resolved. The
talks have had some progress, but not enough," Aliyev said.

He added that the OSCE Minsk Group stated that Nagorno-Karabakh’s
recognition cannot be a matter of debate after the conflict in
Georgia. The events must not set a precedent, the group added.

"But from the geopolitical point of view, if your neighbors are at
war, it is of course not beneficial for you. Georgia and Russia are
our neighbors and we maintain good relations with them both," he said.

"The Armenian-Azerbaijani talks have nothing to do with the
difficulties that we faced during the war in Georgia," Aliyev
said. "It was clearly not an easy time for us because the bulk of
our energy sources are transported through Georgia. The war was
a major obstacle. We had to look for other routes to transport our
oil. The more access that we have to world markets, the better. But the
situation in Georgia has stabilized. There are no more transportation
problems in the country. In addition, as I mentioned, there are
other routes."