Ilham Aliyev: Reasonable compromise on Karabakh is possible
Territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is not and can not be a subject of discussion.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev made the statement in his interview with the head of the Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya, Dmitry Kiselyov.
“We will never agree with granting independence to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian side is well aware of this,” Ilham Aliyev said.
“However, a reasonable compromise is possible by ensuring the security of population of Nagorno-Karabakh, implementation of various investment projects by Azerbaijan and a peaceful cooperation between the two peoples under the condition of liberation of territories beyond the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region,” said the president commenting on Kiselyov’s question on how Azerbaijan sees the conflict’s settlement.
“This corresponds to the proposals on which we are working and which have been put forward by the mediators,” he added.
Touching upon the main reason behind the conflict’s remaining unsettled, President Aliyev said that within for the past 24 years of creation of the OSCE Minsk Group, Armenia has in every way blocked any slightest progress in the negotiation process.
“Our position is that people should live there, where they lived. Because they lived there for a long time: The Armenian population lived there for 200 years, while the Azerbaijani people much more, but that is not the point.” he noted. “For example, 95 percent of the population in Shusha was Azerbaijanis. They were driven out, their houses were either captured or destroyed, and currently, other people live in their houses.”
“This must end,” said the president.
“The Armenian population of the Nagorno-Karabakh can live there as they lived before, we are not against that,” he added.
“What benefit did Armenia have from this conflict? Millions of Azerbaijanis suffered, but did Armenians become happier from this, did it become more secure, more prosperous, of course not,” said Ilham Aliyev. “Without normalization of relations with Azerbaijan, there can’t be development in the region. They will always live under certain pressure, thinking what if something happens.”
“We want peace in the region and our position is quite constructive, but we want our territories back,” he added. “Armenia wants peace but it doesn’t want to give back somebody else’s territories. That is the difference.”
“Undoubtedly, we can’t provide anything more than this compromise,” said the president. “As I have already said, there can be no compromise on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, but there can be a compromise on the issues of local self-government, self-government of the Nagorno-Karabakh, and in the future, if we agree, it can be an autonomous republic.”
“The Armenian leadership is well aware of this, but they manipulate public opinion, create an image of the enemy, distort the essence of the negotiation process and present it in such a way that as if Azerbaijan wants to almost annihilate the Armenian population or to expel them. That is not true,” Ilham Aliyev said.
Responding to Kiselyov’s question regarding U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, the president said the statement is absolutely unacceptable.
“This is a diplomatic mishap, and our Foreign Ministry and I have already responded to this inappropriate statement,” he said.
Ilham Aliyev reminded that recently, on October 7, he has quite clearly expressed his opinion on the statement during a Cabinet of Ministers meeting.
“I said it is at least unfair to put blame on Azerbaijan for the conflict not being resolved,” said the president. “The statement is absolutely contrary to the position of the U.S. President Obama, together with other presidents – of France and of Russia – has said that the status-quo is unacceptable. But now the U.S. secretary of state declares that he sees no settlement, and moreover he says that solving this conflict is even harder than solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”
“What kind of signal is he sending, and to whom? Is he sending a signal to Armenia that they should protract this conflict as many years as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has lasted? This is absolutely unacceptable statement,” said the president.
He added that this statement once again shows why the conflict is still not solved.
“Because there are decisions, resolutions of international organizations, but they are not executed. There is no pressure on the aggressor country, on the contrary, often there is a policy of encouraging the aggressor, something well-known in the history of the 20th century – not of the same scale, but roughly of the same essence,” said Ilham Aliyev.
“This is the problem we are facing. We are being told: the peaceful way, only the peaceful way, nothing but the peaceful way. We say very well, let’s settle this, because eventually it is unfair, aside from violating all the international laws, to occupy another state’s territory and drive out the population, and keep the occupied territories under control,” President Aliyev added.
He said it is no secret today that Azerbaijan’s army has a serious potential to solve many issues.
“We are told the peaceful way, we say very well then, we are waiting. And instead of the pressure on the aggressor we hear such statements,” added the president.