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Azerbaijan is committed to the negotiation process to solve out Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, based on the principles of international law and particularly within the territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, the head of the press service of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, told Trend.

He made the remarks during ‘This Week in Focus’ program episode.

The official said that the negotiations have been going on for over 20 years, adding that Azerbaijan declared at a meeting of the UN General Assembly that it is engaged in this process, but bears in mind its right under the UN Charter’s Article 51 – the right for individual or collective self-defense.

“We still consider that the opportunities for the peaceful resolution of the conflict are not exhausted,” Hajiyev said.

He added that Armenia, which is experiencing political, economic, demographic and other kinds of crises, should think about its future.

“And they should think about their future in the isolated situation having the problems and claims with almost all their neighbors,” Hajiyev stressed.

The ministry’s spokesman said Azerbaijan continues to support the opinion that all the members of the OSCE Minsk Group should contribute to the negotiation process and take and an active part in it.

He said that the issue is not about changing the format of the Minsk Group, however, within the existing format, the co-chairs should double their efforts to push forward and particularly to implement the agreements and arrangements that the sides already have in the negotiation process.

Hajiyev also said the most important and key element is now the comprehensive peace agreement, adding that Azerbaijan started to establish a working group on different aspects of the peace agreement.

But another matter, as Hajiyev said, is that Armenia tries to conduct a destructive policy in the negotiation process.

Therefore, he said, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs should bring the message to Armenia about the necessity of its taking a constructive stance in negotiations.

Armenia's ridiculous claims on profit

International media, journalists, academicians and other people who would like to visit Azerbaijan’s occupied territories for professional activities should abide by the laws, regulations and procedures of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, the head of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s press service told Trend during ‘This Week in Focus’ program episode.

He said Azerbaijan is very pragmatic and open in this issue.

“And we acknowledge that journalists and people from the academia should go there for their professional work,” said Hajiyev. “Maybe they are interested in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict issue and they simply should make coverage. There is a practical and legal solution for that.”

He went on to add that in order to visit Azerbaijan’s occupied territories for professional activity, foreigners need to submit an appeal to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry.

Bringing an example to this, Hajiyev said that recently The New York Times representatives wanted to make coverage about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

“They visited Azerbaijan and also made a written appeal to the Foreign Ministry, saying they want to make journalistic and professional work in the occupied territories,” Hajiyev said. “And based on that, Azerbaijan gave them permission and we also provided them with our accreditation card as they are provided for journalists making coverage in Azerbaijan.”

Hajiyev further noted that a researcher from the UK was also granted a permission of the Foreign Ministry under the law and made a trip to the occupied territories.

Hajiyev said that earlier foreign journalists were not aware of the procedures needed to visit Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.

“Therefore we also raise the awareness of the issue, it is crucially important,” Hajiyev added.

Further speaking, Hajiyev said Armenia’s statements that it is making profit from attracting foreigners to Nagorno-Karabakh are ridiculous, calling it "nonsense".

“The majority of those people, who illegally visit the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, are the citizens of Armenia,” Hajiyev said, adding that the second major group of the visitors is the members of the Armenian diaspora from other countries.

Hajiyev said there are people, who are brought to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia, being misled into thinking that they are visiting another part of Armenia, and they ended up seeing that they are actually in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

“And we have a lot of appeals from this group of people,” he said. “And they understand the situation, and express support to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. They respect the law of Azerbaijan and they ask to be removed from the list of the persons who are declared as undesirable in Azerbaijan.”

Hajiyev said there has been a decrease in the number of people who illegally visit the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, adding that this is evidenced by the statistics.

He said that for example, in 2014, only 60-70 people were added to the list of the persons who illegally visited Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian troops must withdraw from occupied territory

The most important condition for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement as it was demanded by the UN Security Council’s resolutions is the withdrawal of Armenian army from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, spokesman for the Azerbaijani foreign ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend on ‘This week in focus’ program episode.

“The military factor, facts of occupation and aggression shall be removed from this process,” he said. “Then we can have a breakthrough in the overall negotiation process and guarantee peace and security in this region.”

“It is disappointing and frustrating for Azerbaijani people that there is no resolution to the conflict,” Hajiyev said. “For the refugees and internally displaced people of Azerbaijan and their demand is simply to return to their territories and their homeland.”

Hajiyev recalled that the OSCE Minsk Group was formed in 1995, and since then there have been no results in the negotiation process.

“The result is the elimination of the fact of occupation and aggression against Azerbaijan and guaranteeing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

Hajiyev said that the result can only be the return of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to their homeland .

Separatist "Court" desicion is illegal

The so-called Court of Appeal of “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” does not have any legal status and any decision made by that court will not have any legal force, head of the press service of the ministry of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend during “This week in focus” program episode.

This is a direct violation of the Geneva conventions and international humanitarian law, Hajiyev said, speaking about the two Azerbaijanis Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, who were taken hostage.

“Armenia directly bears the responsibility for this action,” Hajiyev said. “And therefore our demand from the Armenian side is to abide by its commitments under the international humanitarian law and Geneva conventions, particularly to guarantee the release of our hostages.”

Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan continues coordination and cooperation with international community on this issue, which has already been raised before Armenia by senior representatives of the co-chair countries of OSCE Minsk Group.

“But unfortunately we see complete disregard to the call of international community and international humanitarian law from the Armenian side," said Hajiyev.

During an operation in the Shaplar village of Azerbaijan’s occupied Kalbajar district on July 11, 2014 Armenian forces killed an Azerbaijani, Hasan Hasanov, and detained two other Azerbaijanis, Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov. A criminal case was filed against them.

Afterwards, the so-called court in Nagorno-Karabakh sentenced Asgarov to life imprisonment and Guliyev to 22 years in prison.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

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