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Ilham Aliyev: â€œAnother Armenian state cannot be established in Azerbaijani landsâ€

09 April 2010 15:25 (UTC +04:00)

The President said Azerbaijan would never agree with that and it would never happen. â€œThe sooner Armenian side understands this, the better it will be for them and for us. So, in this way the problem can be solved, and then the peace can be established in the Caucasus. Otherwise, no initiative and political project can be realized in the region without the settlement of the Armenian - Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. They live in the United States, France and Russia. What will happen if they get an idea of self-determination in those places? How will those countries react? Armenians have already got their self-determination within the state of Armenia despite the fact that this state was established in the historic lands of Azerbaijan. It is known to all. Following the declaration of its independence in 1918, the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan made a decision to cede the city of Iravan to Armenia for making its capital. Iravan was the city of Iravan Khanate where Azerbaijani people lived.
All the attempts which are being made to take away the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the context of overall development or establishment of new relations in the region are in vain. That will not happen because it is the main problem, and the main obstacle should be removed first. Azerbaijan has the full right to restore its territorial integrity ".

According to the head of state, the occupation of lands has not only created problem for Azerbaijan, but also threatened the regional stability and prediction.

â€œTwenty percent of Azerbaijanâ€™s internationally-recognized territory has already been under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces for 20 years. They committed an ethnic cleansing policy against the Azerbaijanis. They committed genocide in Khojaly. More than 600 citizens, including women and children were killed by the Armenian war criminals in that event. Unfortunately, the war criminals have not been held accountable for this yet.

But I am hopeful that the time will come when they will be prosecuted for their actions. As a result of ethnic cleansing policy, Azerbaijanis living not only in Nagorno Karabakh, but also in adjacent areas, totally more than 750 000 people were expelled from those territories and their homes were razed to the ground. All the historic monuments, mosques and cemeteries were destroyed in those places. This is the consequences of aggression by Armenia.

The consequences of this aggression have not been eliminated yet. For twenty years now, we have been in the process of negotiations. However, no result is there. Despite the adoption of four resolutions by the UN Security Council in the early 1990s demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied lands, the Armenian armed forces are still holding our territories under occupation. What does this mean? This means that the norms of international law donâ€™t work. This means that the resolutions by the UN Security Council, the institution which makes international decisions at the highest level, are not implemented. And the aggressor who violates these international norms and defies the resolutions is not punished. Unfortunately, sometimes we not only see the aggressor unpunished, but also encouraged by various preferential agreements, financial support and other means. "

Speaking about the history of occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by the Armenian forces, the President said this process has been ongoing for 20 years. â€œThis must end. Their troops must be withdrawn from the internationally-recognized territories of Azerbaijan. Those who are currently living in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijanis, who definitely will return there to live together on the basis of security guarantees within the sovereign state of Azerbaijan, with the highest status of autonomy that exists today in the world. This position is fully consistent with the norms of international law. At the same time, the activity of mediators and indeed the proposals they have made to both sides reflect this position. The violation of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan should end. The independence of Nagorno-Karabakh is not even a subject of discussion. There is no mechanism of that independence on the proposals of mediators.

In many cases, the Armenians refer to the principle of self-determination. Of course, this is an important principle of international law. However, the Armenians have already exercised their right to self-determination and they have an independent Armenian state. If you follow this logic, it turns out that the Armenians will use self-determination in any place where they live? How many Armenian states will be established then? They live in many places, particularly in countries which are represented in the Minsk Group, which is responsible for resolving conflictâ€.

The President expressed hope that practical results of the mediatorsâ€™ activity will appear in the near future.
â€œBecause it is also unacceptable for the co-chairing countries, which are leading countries of the world and permanent members of the Security Council, to conduct unfruitful negotiations for 20 years. Armeniaâ€™s turn has come â€“ do they accept the last proposal by the mediators or not? If they donâ€™t accept the proposal, I think that the process of negotiations should be reviewed again and a new stage has to begin.
Well, I donâ€™t want to take your time so much. I would like to note once again that I am satisfied with the level of relations between our countries. I think it is suitable time to define new spheres where we can have successful cooperation. We have strong mutual will and potential for that. As I noted in the meeting with the President of Estonia today, our economies are not rival but in contrary, we can support each other and our economies can complement each other. I consider that we can establish very strong partnership between our countries based on such political basis and great historic heritage of relations between our peoples and mutual respect. These relations will be good for cooperation between our countries, for the regional cooperation and cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan and will make the situation more predictable and stableâ€.