AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT CLAIMS OF INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS IN NAGORNO GARABAGH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Azerbaijan Business Center
May 15 2009

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. When receiving the members of the United States
Council on Foreign Relations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
made some estimates of the current condition of negotiations about
peaceful settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Garabagh conflict.

"At present there are various approaches and estimates relating to
the situation. On the one hand, it would seem that we are close to an
agreement, but on the other hand, it can be asserted that we still
have to do much in this direction. As for progress in negotiations,
I assess it positively, as an advance which was impossible several
years ago was achieved on certain matters. This progress is, however,
is hardly enough for settlement of the conflict problem and reaching
of an agreement," President Aliyev said.

The Azerbaijani leader also reiterated inefficiency of 17-year activity
of OSCE Minsk Group created for preparing convocation of a conference
on conflict settlement.

"The situation keeps on remaining previous. Our lands are still under
occupation. Seven regions located outside of administrative borders of
Nagorno Garabagh are seized by Armenians. Following Armenia’s ethnic
cleansing policy about a million of Azerbaijanians became refugees
and IDPs and this situation continues so far," he said.

Then the President stated about a possibility of conflict settlement
on stable bases of international law norms saying of unconditional
withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied lands and provision
of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

"Settlement of the conflict should be based first of all on
international law norms that, in its turn, will allow restoration of
our territorial integrity and create an opportunity for Armenians
and Azerbaijani population that resided before the conflict in
Nagorno Garabagh to return to their lands and live under conditions
of peace. Today when the borders in Europe are under opening and
integration processes are occurring no one country should build its
future itself. The situation in Armenia is now was created by this
country itself because of aggressive policy it follows," President
Aliyev said.

Recently a high-ranking representative of the Azerbaijan Presidential
Administration accused one of the Minsk Group co-chairs of wishful
thinking, when talking of success of negotiations held in Prague on
7 May between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia.