ANS TV, Azerbaijan
Oct 31 2008
Karabakh solution possible only within Azeri territorial integrity –
spokesman
An Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that the Nagornyy
Karabakh settlement is possible only based on the principle of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
In remarks to the private TV station ANS on 31 October, Xazar Ibrahim
said: "As we have repeatedly noted, Azerbaijan’s position on the
conflict remains unchanged. Azerbaijan’s position will remain as it is
in the current talks [meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents in Moscow on 2 November]. The principle of territorial
integrity is on the table. There can be no other solution to the
conflict."
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) has
protested at Russia’s mediation in the meeting of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents to be held in Moscow on 2 November.
The opposition Azadliq newspaper quoted a statement by the pressure
group as saying that "Russia’s aim is to deploy its military units in
Azerbaijan under the guise of peacekeepers at any cost. On the other
hand, the fact that Armenia does not give up its aggressive claims
makes Azerbaijan’s participation in the meeting impossible." The group
said that the holding of military drills in Karabakh by Armenia and
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s participation in the drills were
"a flagrant violation of international legal norms".
"Azerbaijan’s sitting at a negotiating table with Armenia after all
these facts is inconsiderable," the KLO said in its statement. It
criticized international organizations and mediating states for "not
reacting to Armenia’s deeds". The group urged the Azerbaijani
authorities to reject the talks through Russia’s mediation, stop talks
currently held on the Madrid principles and stop the "process posing a
serious threat to the country’s national interests".
The opposition daily Baki Xabar quoted political analyst Qabil
Huseynli as saying that it is not worth expecting serious results from
the Moscow meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.
"I can say unequivocally that the meeting of the presidents due in the
Russian capital will give no incentive for resolving the conflict. If
the point is about the mediators, we should note in particular that
those states did not took an unequivocal and sincere position on the
conflict resolution. From this standpoint, Russia’s negative approach
should be noted particularly. Maybe, it is unnecessary to mention that
the plan of the Karabakh conflict was worked out in Russia and it is
namely Russia who delays the resolution and prevents the conflict from
being settled. In this case, we cannot expect Russia to help resolve
the conflict fairly and on the basis of international laws, by coming
up with another initiative," Huseynli said.
In an interview with Azerbaijan’s 1news.az website on 28 October,
Russian tycoon Boris Berezovskiy said that "Azerbaijan should not
believe current [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin’s Russia and
its efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict. I have been involved in
the settlement for a long time and know exactly that the main brake in
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is the Kremlin ‘hawks’ who
support maintaining tension in the Caucasus."
Berezovskiy expressed his distrust in Russian President Dmitriy
Medvedev’s initiative to reconcile Azerbaijan and Armenia, adding that
former President Vladimir Putin was behind the plan. "It is fully
possible that he thought out some crafty plan which will not obviously
be in Azerbaijan’s interests," Berezovskiy said.
He accused the tandem of Medvedev and Putin of trying to appropriate
Azerbaijan and its wealth. "By all means they will twist your arms,
threaten with the Karabakh conflict. Therefore, you should make sure
that you do not fall into traps laid by Putin," the tycoon added.