Armenia set to free occupied districts – Azeri foreign minister
Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
16 May 05
[Presenter] Armenia is prepared to liberate the occupied seven
districts around Nagornyy Karabakh, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov has said. This issue was discussed by the Azerbaijani
and Armenian presidents before a summit of the Council of Europe
member countries.
[Passage omitted: reported details on format of talks]
[Correspondent] Yerevan agreed to liberate the occupied seven
districts. Commenting on this, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
said that the main issue now is to set a date for the return of the
districts. He believes that this will require some time.
[Mammadyarov] We are discussing which district should be liberated
and when. They agree that all the districts should be returned,
however, they are thinking of a timeframe. There are many issues
involved such as the military issue, the return of refugees, the
issue of land mines and the rehabilitation of the territories.
[Correspondent] As for the status of Nagornyy Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity will not be damaged.
[Mammadyarov] Unequivocally there should be no threats to Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity. As for the issue of Karabakh’s autonomy or
status, it is up to the local people to decide. We think that the
issue of status should not mean changes to Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. [Passage omitted: indistinct sentence]
[Correspondent] Mammadyarov said Baku does not think that the format
of the talks on resolving the conflict is of great significance. We
are ready to continue the talks in any format for the sake of results,
end of quote.