Aliyev: Armenians already exercised right to self-determination
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said the
right to self-determination of the population of Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region currently under Armenian
occupation, could be exercised strictly within the context of
Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity, as the Armenian people have
previously used this right by establishing their own state.
President Aliyev made the statement during a recent meeting with members of the US Council on Foreign Relations, the state news agency Azertag reported.
"Based on their logic, many Armenian states will be established in the world. But this is a wrong approach," the Azerbaijani leader said.
As for progress in talks on settling the Garabagh conflict, the president regarded this as a process that is heading in a positive direction, stressing advances on certain issues of the conflict settlement.
"These advances could not have been reached several years ago. However, this progress is insufficient for achieving a settlement of this issue and an agreement. 17 years have passed since the Minsk Group [the OSCE`s team of diplomats brokering the peace process] was established, and despite all the advances, there is no result, and the same situation persists. Our lands are still occupied. Seven districts, located outside the administrative borders of Upper Garabagh are occupied by Armenians."
The president emphasized that Azerbaijan has been consistently drawing the Armenian`s attention to the Helsinki Final Act.
"The Final Act indicates territorial integrity and self-determination. The right to self-determination for any given state cannot violate the internationally-recognized principle of territorial integrity. Therefore, the conflict resolution must be primarily based on international legal norms which, in turn, will enable ensuring restoration of our territorial integrity and the living there of Armenians, and of the Azerbaijani residents who lived there prior to the outbreak of the Upper Garabagh conflict," Aliyev said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia`s territorial claims. Upper Garabagh has been occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire ended hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted some one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. Years of peace talks, brokered by US, Russian and French mediators through the Minsk Group, have brought few tangible results.
President Aliyev made the statement during a recent meeting with members of the US Council on Foreign Relations, the state news agency Azertag reported.
"Based on their logic, many Armenian states will be established in the world. But this is a wrong approach," the Azerbaijani leader said.
As for progress in talks on settling the Garabagh conflict, the president regarded this as a process that is heading in a positive direction, stressing advances on certain issues of the conflict settlement.
"These advances could not have been reached several years ago. However, this progress is insufficient for achieving a settlement of this issue and an agreement. 17 years have passed since the Minsk Group [the OSCE`s team of diplomats brokering the peace process] was established, and despite all the advances, there is no result, and the same situation persists. Our lands are still occupied. Seven districts, located outside the administrative borders of Upper Garabagh are occupied by Armenians."
The president emphasized that Azerbaijan has been consistently drawing the Armenian`s attention to the Helsinki Final Act.
"The Final Act indicates territorial integrity and self-determination. The right to self-determination for any given state cannot violate the internationally-recognized principle of territorial integrity. Therefore, the conflict resolution must be primarily based on international legal norms which, in turn, will enable ensuring restoration of our territorial integrity and the living there of Armenians, and of the Azerbaijani residents who lived there prior to the outbreak of the Upper Garabagh conflict," Aliyev said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia`s territorial claims. Upper Garabagh has been occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire ended hostilities that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted some one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. Years of peace talks, brokered by US, Russian and French mediators through the Minsk Group, have brought few tangible results.
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