AZERBAIJANI LEADER MET HIS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART IN MOSCOW AND DOES NOT RULE OUT GARABAGH RECONQUERING

Azerbaijan Business Center
July 14 2009

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. When visiting the UK Ilham Aliyev, the
President of Azerbaijan, has held meetings in the Royal Institute of
International Affairs the members of which are prominent politicians,
diplomats, representatives of the press, publicists and public figures
of Europe.

President Aliyev also delivered speech at the meeting on the theme
"Foreign Policy Challenges for Azerbaijan".

Reminding of his first meeting in this institute in 2004 the
Azerbaijani leader said that over the last five years his
country’s economy had grown 2.6 fold and poverty level reduced
substantially. Economy development promoted to tackling of social
problems.

The President said that Azerbaijan’s foreign policy based itself on
national interests, international law, mutual respect, principles of
non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. He underlined that
Azerbaijan built up good relationships with the UK as well.

"The UK is our strategic partner and our ties with this country
are important from angle of co-operation between Azerbaijan and the
European Union," he said.

In its reports the British press accented Azerbaijani President’s
position in respect to Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Garabagh conflict.

"Nagorno Garabagh will never be recognized an independent state. It
is absolutely absurd to expect that. Our country is ready to ensure
the highest level of autonomy for those who live on this territory
but only within the framework of sovereign Azerbaijani Republic,"
the press quotes President Aliyev.

On 17 July the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia are to meet in
Moscow. Against the background of expectations that these negotiations
will open a new page in settlement of frozen conflict on Nagorno
Garabagh, President Aliyev called them "promising".

"All the occupied territories of Azerbaijan that make almost
20% of the country should be immediately released from Armenian
occupation. Million of refugees from Azerbaijan that were subject of
ethnic cleansing of Armenia have the right to return to their native
lands. Our goal is peaceful settlement of the conflict, but I cannot
rule out surely military methods of settlement as Azerbaijan has legal
right to protect itself and its territorial integrity," he concluded.