AZERI PRESIDENT RULES OUT GARABAGH INDEPENDENCE

AzerNews Weekly
July 14 2009

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in Britain on Monday there
was no prospect of Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region
occupied by Armenian armed forces, being granted independence.

"Upper Garabagh will never be recognized as an independent country,"
Aliyev told foreign policy experts at Chatham House in London.

He said Baku was ready to grant the highest possible level of autonomy
for the residents of Upper Garabagh within a sovereign Azerbaijani
state, and the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of the region
may co-exist in the future. "This is the only possible option, and,
if the Armenian side displays political will, the conflict can be
settled," Aliyev said.

Further, the president said Armenia’s concerns on creating an overland
link with Garabagh and security issues were comprehensible, emphasizing
that Baku was ready resolve these matters constructively. "But it is
absolutely ridiculous to expect that Upper Garabagh will become an
independent state. A territory within Azerbaijan populated by 60,000
people cannot be independent."

Though the separatist regime in Upper Garabagh declared so-called
independence in 1991, at the time of the Soviet collapse, this
"independence", which blatantly tramples on international law, has
not been recognized by the world community to date.

Aliyev said peace talks were "more promising" but the positive dynamics
was not enough to reach the ultimate goal of reaching peace. "We have
been living in the conditions of neither war nor peace in the past
15 years."

The Azerbaijani leader said Baku is committed to a peaceful settlement
and has proven this clear-cut stance in the past years by holding
negotiations.

"But I can’t fully exclude a military option because Azerbaijan
has a right, under international law, to restore its territorial
integrity. No country can be denied this right."

He noted that Azerbaijan possesses a powerful military capable
of restoring the country’s integrity. At the same time, the
commander-in-chief assured international experts that Baku will
continue making an effort to resolve the Garabagh conflict in peace.

Aliyev, on an official visit to the United Kingdom, met with Prime
Minister Gordon Brown on Monday.

Brown said his country’s cooperation with Azerbaijan was progressing
in a variety of fields, including the energy sector. "We are keen on
expanding our relations with Azerbaijan in the political, economic
and other areas."

Further, Brown welcomed Azerbaijan’s expanding relationship with the
European Union. He said Britain would continue providing Azerbaijan
with multilateral assistance on the world stage.

Aliyev, for his part, pointed out the countries’ increasing energy
cooperation. "The energy sector is one of the very important directions
in our bilateral relations. Cooperation between Azerbaijan and BP has
been rapidly developing for many years. There are good prospects for
the development of relations in other fields, as well."