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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev: â€œNegotiations with Armenian president have had some progress, but not enoughâ€

02 February 2009 12:40 (UTC +04:00)

The conflict must be resolved within the principles of international law based on the UN resolutions calling for the immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from our territoriesâ€, said President Ilham Aliyev in his interview with the Wall Street Journal, APA reports quoting the Azertaj News agency. The President said Armenia did not comply with the norms of international law and this was the main reason why the conflict has not been resolved. â€œThe negotiations with the Armenian president have had some progress, but not enoughâ€. The head of state answered the question about the impact of Russia-Georgia tensions on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. â€œThe countries directly involved in the negotiation process, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs â€“ the United States, Russia and France stated that Nagorno-Karabakhâ€™s recognition could not be a subject of discussions after the conflict in Georgia. The events must not set a precedent, the group added. But from the geopolitical point of view, if your neighbors are at war, it is of course not beneficial for you. Georgia and Russia are our neighbors and we maintain good relations with both of them,â€ President Aliyev said.
The President emphasized that the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations had no connection with the difficulties that the country faced during the war in Georgia. â€œIt was clearly not an easy time for us because the bulk of our energy sources are transported through Georgia. The war was a major obstacle. We had to look for other routes to transport our oil. It is better that we have more access to world markets. The situation in Georgia has stabilized. There are no more transportation problems in the country. In addition, as I mentioned, there are other routes.â€