AzTV Baku, Azerbaijan
Feb 27 2010
Azeri president questions calls for peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has questioned international
requests, which call for a peaceful settlement to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict.
Azerbaijan’s state owned AzTV showed Ilham Aliyev saying the following
at the opening of an IDP settlement in the country’s northern Qabala
District: "On the one hand, we are being told to peacefully solve the
issue and we support this. However, no one should forget that the
Armenians did not occupy those lands peacefully, they occupied our
lands by force and with the support of other countries… So if the
Armenians used force to occupy our territory, why are we being asked
to seek peaceful ways [to settle the conflict]? I want to reiterate
again. No one wants war. How long we should tolerate such an
intolerable situation? How long the world community and the parties
who deal with this matter will demonstrate patience? We cannot accept
the present situation. The status quo does not satisfy us. The status
quo should be changed."
President Aliyev also said that despite international norms, justice
was on the side of the strong party: "The world events indicate that
whoever is strong is right. Unfortunately, this is the reality and we
live in reality and we do not live in a virtual world. Everyone would
want to see functioning laws, international norms, and justice. But we
do not see that. The example of this conflict shows us that injustice
has been continuing for 20 years."
[translated from Azeri]