Ilham Aliyev: Change in status quo means liberation of occupied Azerbaijan lands

Ilham Aliyev: Change in status quo means liberation of occupied Azerbaijan lands
# 16 March 2017 08:46 (UTC +04:00)

The status quo in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be changed, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

He made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 5th Global Baku Forum titled “The Future of International Relations: Power and Interests”, which kicked off in Baku March 16, APA reported.

The president noted that change in the status quo means the liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

“The leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries have repeatedly stated that the status quo must be changed. It means the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from Armenian occupation,” he added.

The head of state noted that the whole infrastructure, religious monuments and places of worship were destroyed in the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

“This fact was also confirmed by two reports of the OSCE fact-finding mission. What happened is the result of the separatist and occupation policy of Armenia,” said President Aliyev.

“When the conflict erupted, the population of Azerbaijan was nearly eight million people and one million of them became refugees and internally displaced persons. By the way, we had the highest per capita number of refugees at that time. The state of Azerbaijan’s economy was not good. Later, the living conditions of these people significantly improved as a result of economic growth,” he added.

President Aliyev once again highlighted the importance of implementing the UN Security Council resolutions and other international documents which demand the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

“Twenty years have passed since the adoption of UN Security Council resolutions. Some resolutions of the Security Council are fulfilled within hours when it comes to Azerbaijan they remain on paper. We regard it as a double-standard approach,” said the president.

Condemning war crimes committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis, Ilham Aliyev stressed that the occupied Azerbaijani territories must be liberated and refugees must return to their native lands.

The unresolved conflict between Armenian and Azerbaijan poses a threat to the region, added the president.

Nagorno Garabagh

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