Turan news agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 22 2010

Azerbaijan upbeat on forthcoming round of Karabakh talks in south Russia

Baku, 22 January: Baku reckons that the forthcoming [25 January]
trilateral meeting between the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Russian
presidents in Sochi will be a step forward in settlement of the
Karabakh conflict, Novruz Mammadov, head of the foreign relations
department of the presidential administration, has said in an
interview with Turan.

"We hope that the meeting will prepare the ground for further
progress. However, we have had other trilateral meetings at the
initiative of the Russian president and they failed to yield any
concrete results," Mammadov said.

Speaking about the basic principles of settlement, Mammadov repeated
[Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev’s remarks that the conflict is to
be resolved within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. "We will not budge from this position," he said.

When asked if a document is to be signed in Sochi, Mammadov pointed
out that this will be up to the results of the meeting.

In comments on Armenian-Turkish protocols, Mammadov said that Ankara
saw for itself that Baku’s "warnings" concerning Yerevan proved
correct. "Armenia proved unable to take normal steps for addressing
its national interests and security issues," Mammadov said.

On the balancing of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, Mammadov made an
important note. "The Azerbaijani authorities build their relations
with other countries based on how they treat Azerbaijan. This
treatment has to be fair and we are very sensitive on this matter. We
accept criticism when it is balanced," Mammadov said.

What is the role of Russia in ensuring Azerbaijan’s national security
and in resolving the Karabakh conflict? The issue of national security
is the paramount task of the Azerbaijani authorities , Mammadov said
when he responded to this question. As for the Karabakh conflict, no
effort is being spared to tackle it. "This allowed us to intensify the
process of settlement," Mammadov said.

Ilham Aliyev’s objective is tackling security issues of not only
Azerbaijan, but of the entire South Caucasus, Novruz Mammadov said.

"From this point of view, the role of Russia is crucial. The security
issue can be resolved when Russia’s interests are taken into account.
In this sense, Russia can play a major role in resolving conflicts. I
believe that Russia is currently making these steps and therefore we
await positive results from the meeting in Sochi," he said.
[translated from Russian]