ALIYEV SAYS KARABAKH INDEPENDENCE NOT DISCUSSED IN TALKS

Asbarez
liyev-says-karabakh-independence-not-discussed-in- talks/
Oct 19th, 2009

BAKU (APA)-Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday, in addressing his
government, unequivocally rejected granting independence to Karabakh
as he outlined key points to which, he alleged, both sides have agreed.

"The issue of granting independence to Nagorno Karabakh at whatever
time-even in a 100 years-is not discussed in negotiations and it never
will," said Aliyev adding, "Azeri lands must be liberated from the
invaders. Citizens of Azerbaijan, internally displaced persons should
return to their native lands, including to Nagorno-Karabakh. This
issue is also reflected in the negotiating process."

"Nagorno-Karabakh may be granted temporary status. But this does not
mean independence, and the two parties-Armenia and Azerbaijan-will
continue to discuss the future status of Nagorno Karabakh in
further negotiations. Here are the basic principles around which the
negotiations are continuing. I hope that the Armenian side will soon
take the steps necessary to solve the problem by showing a constructive
approach," said Aliyev.

After the recent meeting in Moldova with his Armenian counterpart,
Serzh Sarkisian, Aliyev announced that talks had not yielded any
results, countering Armenian and OSCE statements that proclaimed
optimism about the continuing negotiations.

In his Saturday remarks, Aliyev pointed the finger at Armenia saying
that his observed impasse was a result of the "unconstructive position
of Armenia," which he said was employing "delaying tactics." He accused
Armenia of bringing up issued that he claimed have been agreed to
back to the negotiation table.

On several occasions during his presentation Saturday, the Azeri
president reiterated his belief that Armenia must "withdraw" from
the liberated territories surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
adding that continuing the talks based on the principle of territorial
integrity has been agreed upon by all parties.

"Most of all, Azerbaijan wants the status quo in the region to change.

This status quo has kept our territories under occupation for 20
years. But this status quo should change positively. If the status
quo changes at the expense of Azerbaijan’s interests, we will not
allow it," proclaimed Aliyev.

"The Azeri army is the strongest in the region with the largest
military capabilities. We need to continue to expand this capacity
because, as I said, we are living [in a state of] war. The war is not
over yet, and the negotiations on the settlement of the Armenian-Azeri
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, unfortunately, have not yielded any
results yet," declared Aliyev.