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Azerbaijanâ€™s President Ilham Aliyev: Weâ€™ve not yet achieved any result in finding a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

17 September 2010 08:55 (UTC +04:00)

Istanbul â€“ APA. â€œA TURKSOY fund will be established in the nearest future and Azerbaijan will ensure all the necessary financial support for the project. I believe the fund will contribute to preserving and reconstructing all cultural monuments across the Turkish world. And it must also contribute to developing friendly, brotherly relations among our nations in the field of culture,â€ Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the 10th summit of the Turkish-speaking countriesâ€™ Heads of State in Istanbul, APA reports quoting AzerTAc.

The Head of State expressed his satisfaction with the successful cooperation and support of the Turkish-speaking countries.
â€œWe must try and are trying to strengthen one anotherâ€™s position in all international organizations, give political support to one another,â€ he said.

President also touched on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
â€œUnfortunately, weâ€™ve not yet achieved any result in finding a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijanâ€™s most painful problem. For long years Azerbaijanâ€™s territories have been under occupation. Some twenty 20 percent of our lands are under Armeniaâ€™s occupation. Over one million Azerbaijanis have been expelled from their homelands as a result of an ethnic cleansing policy. It is a big injustice. All international organizations, the worldâ€™s leading organizations have been supporting Azerbaijanâ€™s just cause. Four resolutions of the UN Security Council still remain unfulfilled. These resolutions demand an unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijanâ€™s lands. Azerbaijanâ€™s territorial integrity must be restored. Similar resolutions were adopted by other international organizations as well, including the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, demanding international law-based settlement of the problem.
The Nagorno-Karabakh is an ancient Azerbaijani land. For centuries Azerbaijanis have been living and working there. Azerbaijanâ€™s territorial integrity is recognized by the international community. Azerbaijanâ€™s territorial integrity must be restored, and we want to achieve this by peaceful means.â€

Azerbaijan is a multinational country. Representatives of different nations and religions are peacefully co-existing in our country. There has never been a religious or national conflict in Azerbaijan. The rights of all nations living in our country are protected. And, of course, the Armenians have also been living in the territory of Azerbaijan. They live here today, and their rights are also protected. The peoplesâ€™ desires of self-determination must not violate the countriesâ€™ territorial integrity. These two notions must not be opposed to each other. The international practice and international law support our position. The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict must be solved on the basis of Azerbaijanâ€™s territorial integrity, with the Armenian minority receiving a high status of self-governance and autonomy within Azerbaijan. This is what the international law requires. These are the rules of the normal human behavior. We are living in the 21st century, not in the 19th century. We must contribute to developing the dialogue among civilizations, strengthening friendship and cooperation among peoples. Such crimes as the violation of the territorial integrity, ethnic cleansing policy, Khojaly genocide must not be left unanswered by the international community in the 21st century. The international community must do its best for the soonest resolution of the problem by its resolutions, decisions, practical steps. We will do our best so that this issue always remains on the agenda, on the agenda of all international organizations. Of course, we are grateful to the friendly, brotherly countries for support. First of all, we are grateful to Turkey for being near Azerbaijan, supporting Azerbaijan in all international organizations, openly expressing its position. I want to express my gratitude to all my brothers living in the Turkish world and supporting us.â€

President Ilham Aliyev said the geographical link within the Turkish world was broken, as Zangazur was given to Armenia.
â€œThe Turkish world is a very big world. Separation of the Zangazur region, an ancient and integral part of the Turkish world, which was then given to Armenia, broke the geographical link within the Turkish world. But the geographical coordinates are not the only factor linking us. We are bound by our relations, our brotherhood, our common past and present. For twenty years our countries have been living as independent states. Today, countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan make Turkey stronger, just like, Turkey, in its turn, makes us stronger. Our strength is in our unity.â€

The Head of State underlined that the document signed in Istanbul was of great importance for the development of the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
â€œI would like to emphasize the development of the relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, which signed a very important document yesterday. We signed a Joint Declaration â€œOn establishment of the Council for high level strategic cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkeyâ€. I believe the Council will be a success. We must increase efforts to boost our relations in all fields. Additional measures must be taken to encourage and expand our mutual trade and economic cooperation. We must explore opportunities of making mutual investment. Brotherly countries have made investments in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani companies are making investments in the Turkish-speaking countries and this process is strengthening.â€

President said the issue of energy security was of special importance in Turkey-Azerbaijan relations.
â€œThe Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum oil and gas pipelines have been making a tremendous contribution to the regionâ€™s energy map, having made it richer. Opening of these corridors allowed us to deliver the natural resources of the Caspian to the world markets. Oil and oil products from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are being exported to the world markets, including Turkey, through the territory of Azerbaijan. I am sure that this cooperation will be more efficient. We need multilateral cooperation in this field. The countries located on the Caspian basin have rich natural resources. Turkey is a large market for us and the brotherly country has got transit opportunities. If we increase our efforts in this field, it will contribute to strengthening each country.â€

President said work was continuing on Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.
â€œThe Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will not only link Turkey with Azerbaijan, but also connect Turkey with Central Asia and Europe with Central Asia. This railroad is very attractive from the economic point of view, and it will also link friendly countries. And I believe the number of such projects will increase in the future. The projects, which have already been implemented, show that joint activities, joint initiatives bring only and only benefit to all countries,â€ President said.