Interfax, Russia
Feb 27 2010

Azeri president urges Armenia to leave Nagorno-Karabakh

BAKU Feb 27

Azerbaijan will not put up with the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, President Ilham Aliyev said.

"We cannot put up with the current situation. The status quo does not
suit us, and it must be changed fairly. The Armenian occupation force
must withdraw from our land without any preconditions, and then peace
and cooperation can be established. This is our position of
principle," Aliyev told forced migrants in Gabala on Saturday.

"We want our legitimate historical land, recognized by the
international community as Azeri, to be given back to us and you, our
citizens, to return to your homes," the president said.

"We are being told, on the one hand, that the problem must be solved
peacefully. We agree with this. But one must not forget that Armenia
occupied these lands by force, not peacefully, with other countries’
support. Azeri citizens, the younger generation, must always remember
that," Aliyev said.

"If Armenia did that by force, we are we being urged to settle [the
conflict] peacefully? No one wants war. But how long must we put up
with this unbearable situation? How long will the world community and
those dealing with this problem remain so complacent?" he said.

Aliyev said he was confident that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem would
be finally resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity.

"We just want this to happen as soon as possible and we want Armenia
to leave the occupied territory voluntarily," the Azeri president
said.