ILHAM ALIYEV: AZERBAIJANI LAND WILL BE LIBERATED
news.az
Nov 18 2009
Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan is hopeful of success in talks to resolve
the Karabakh conflict, although Armenia is using delaying tactics,
President Ilham Aliyev has said.
He was speaking at the official opening on Tuesday of a nine-storey
residential building in Baku’s Binaqadi District. The building
will house 369 families displaced from their homes by the Armenian
occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding districts.
"I am sure that we will attain our desired goal but I want it to
happen as soon as possible," the president said. "I have worked and
will continue working in this regard."
He said Azerbaijan adheres to the policy of settling the conflict
through negotiations.
"We will continue our pressure on Armenia in political, economic and
all other forms and we should do our utmost to attain our desired
goal. We want to restore justice," Aliyev said.
The president said that Azerbaijan has no territorial claims on
other countries though present-day Armenia was established on ancient
Azerbaijani land, in particular the Irevan khanate and Zangezur.
Addressing the internally displaced people, Aliyev said that they
would live temporarily in the new houses and once the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh is settled they will be able to return to their
native homes which will be rebuilt.
"Once the Azerbaijani lands are liberated, we will build new houses,
new cities and create new infrastructure on these lands," the president
said. He also said that the authorities pay considerable attention to
the problems of refugees and IDPs and have assigned $2bn to improve
their living conditions.
The president said that Armenia is fully dependent on foreign
financial assistance, as its economy continues to weaken, while the
economic situation in Azerbaijan is improving and "this gap will grow
further" with the passage of time. At the same time, Aliyev said, the
Azerbaijani authorities pay considerable attention to strengthening
military potential.
"We are in a negotiating process, but we should be ready to liberate
our lands by force at any time," the head of state said. He described
Armenia’s continuing aggression against Azerbaijan as "an unbearable
situation" and "the greatest injustice and crude violation of human
rights".
"Yet the world community is indifferent to this. Though international
organizations have adopted the relevant resolutions, they are not
executed. In such conditions, these resolutions are senseless.
Unfortunately, the norms of international law are crudely violated
in the world and, as a result, Azerbaijani lands remain occupied for
many years," the president said.
"We try to settle the issue peacefully, as we do not want war. But
negotiations are ineffective," he said. Seven to eight rounds of
negotiations on resolution of the conflict are held every year but
with no special result.
"There is progress but we are not able to attain the final solution
to the issue. Today Armenia takes positions that contradict all
international norms, while the world community does not put pressure
on them," Aliyev said. In similar cases elsewhere, when one country
occupies another, political and military intervention is observed,
he said.
"Yet our case is different for some well-known reasons. As a result of
the activity of the Armenian lobby, the world community does not treat
the Armenian occupation very seriously. Therefore, we should hold a
thorough analysis of the current situation and make some changes to
our plan of action for the coming years. We see that we can rely only
on ourselves," the head of state said. He said that for this purpose
Azerbaijan continues to increase its economic and military strength.
"I do not doubt that Azerbaijani lands will be liberated. The main
issue is whether it will be done peacefully or by force."
The president said that the conflict settlement has been drawn out
for a long time, while Azerbaijan cannot wait for ever. Speaking
of definite achievements in the negotiation process, he said that
the withdrawal of Armenian troops from all seven districts around
Nagorno-Karabakh and the return of Azerbaijanis to Karabakh itself
are being discussed.
"This gives us hope and an additional stimulus for participation in
the negotiations. We think that there is hope. But at the same time
we see the Armenian side choosing tactics to delay the settlement,"
Aliyev said. He said that this gives Yerevan time to settle Armenians
in the occupied lands, but this will be difficult as Armenian
citizens are leaving the country for a variety of reasons and the
real population is just 1.7 million. The president thinks that this
trend will weaken the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani
troops in the conflict area.