BAKU: OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT ARE NOT EXHAUSTED

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 23 2015

23 March 2015 – 11:57am

Azerbaijan is committed to the negotiating process to resolve the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, based on the principles
of international law and particularly within the territorial integrity,
sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan,
the head of the press service of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry,
Hikmet Hajiyev said.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman also said that the negotiations have
been going on for over 20 years, adding that Azerbaijan declared at a
meeting of the UN General Assembly that it is engaged in this process,
but bears in mind its right under the UN Charter’s Article 51, the
right to individual or collective self-defense.

“We still consider that the opportunities for the peaceful resolution
of the conflict are not exhausted,” Trend cited Hajiyev’s remarks
during an episode of the program ‘This Week in Focus’.

He added that Armenia, which is experiencing political, economic,
demographic and other kinds of crises, should think about its future.

“And they should think about their future in the isolated situation
having the problems and claims with almost all their neighbors,”
Hajiyev stressed.

According to Hajiyev, Azerbaijan continues to support the opinion
that all the members of the OSCE Minsk Group should contribute to the
negotiating process and take an active part in it. And the issue is
not about changing the format of the Minsk Group.

“Within the existing format, the co-chairs should double their efforts
to push forward and particularly to implement the agreements and
arrangements that the sides already have in the negotiating process,”
he explained.

The most important element is now the comprehensive peace agreement.

Baku has started to establish a working group on different aspects
of the peace agreement, Hajiyev said.

Armenia tries to conduct a destructive policy in the negotiating
process, Hajiyev believes. Therefore, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
should bring the message to Yerevan about the need for it to take a
constructive stance in the negotiations.