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Azerbaijani Presidential Administrationâ€™s official: â€œNone of the regional projects can move fwd without Azerbaijanâ€™s participationâ€

27 June 2012 09:11 (UTC +04:00)

Unfortunately, these possibilities and opportunities are deeply affected by the security threats and risks in the regionâ€, head of the political analysis and information department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Elnur Aslanov said during the Great Silk Road International Youth Congress and Festival.

He said the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still remains a major source of instability and impediment to the economic development and integration of the entire region of the South Caucasus into the European and Euro-Atlantic architecture. â€œAs a result of this conflict almost 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan has been still occupied by Armenia, around 1 million ethnically cleansed Azerbaijani population has become internally displaced and refugees, thousands of Azerbaijani historical-cultural heritage items on the occupied territories devastated and looted. Twenty years after being forced to flee their homes, these people wait patiently to return, not knowing whether their homes, villages and sacred places have withstood the Armenian occupation. Despite four U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories, Armenian government is turning a blind eye to these decisions, failing to fulfill them and continuing to occupy Azerbaijanâ€™s internationally recognized territories. We in Azerbaijan strongly believe that the withdrawal of Armenian troops in a fixed time framework from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan will open a tremendous opportunities for the region, providing a different environment of predictability, development and benefit for everyoneâ€, said Aslanov and added: â€œYet Armenian political regime, as a matter of fact, has led itself into isolation by territorial claims and aggression against Azerbaijan. This policy of Yerevan will deteriorate Armeniaâ€™s social and economic situation even more in the future. Armenia, the smallest of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, instead of negotiating in good faith with a vision to find a durable solution to the conflict as soon as possible, prefers escalation with unpredictable consequences.

I would like to repeat â€“ We are ready to continue the talks in good faith to finalize the status of Nagorno-Karabakh within the Republic of Azerbaijan. The people ousted from Nagorno-Karabakh must be able to return to their homes and live in peace, friendship and cooperation. Azerbaijan has a multiethnic and multi-confessional society. We are proud of our diversity and to see representatives of many ethnicities live in Azerbaijan like one family. In conclusion, I would like to say that our geographical location, potential and economic advantages demonstrate that none of the regional projects can move fwd without Azerbaijanâ€™s participation. We are changing the regional energy map and lead the region to stability, prosperity and predictability. We want to live in peace with our neighbors and strengthen cooperation with our friends.â€