Ilham Aliyev: Negotiations underway to open communications in post-war period [UPDATE]

15 March 2021 16:10 (UTC+04:00)

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By Aisha Jabbarova

President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan and Armenia have already started negotiations on the opening of transport communications following the signing of November 10 peace deal that ended the war.

Aliyev made the remarks during the one-on-one meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ann Linde on March 14.

Reminding that the Karabakh peace deal stipulates the opening of the transport corridors in the region, Aliyev said that negotiations have already been held in several rounds and different levels, adding that this can be “a starting point for completely turning the page of war and leaving it to the history.”

“Opening of communications will be in the benefit of all the regional countries. We will create new opportunities, bring new dynamics to regional cooperation. And it can bring after many other areas of potential cooperation. I already publicly spoke that Azerbaijan is ready for that,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev reminded that Azerbaijan liberated its Armenian-occupied territories, implemented the resolutions of Security Council of United Nations and decisions of OSCE.

Furthermore, he spoke about the rehabilitation of the territories that were liberated in the six-week-war in 2020.

“The program of reconstruction is already being implemented. A lot is to be done, because everything is destroyed on the liberated territories - the cities, the villages, the cultural monuments, all infrastructure. So there will be really a very big scope of work. It’s more than 10 thousand square kilometers of totally destroyed area.”

Aliyev told Linde that her visit had very big importance for Azerbaijan as the OSCE is an organization which is directly involved in the resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Now the conflict is already in the history and we need to look to the future. And we discussed today with you our views how to build the future. We think four months which passed after war already demonstrate the will of both sides to turn the page and to concentrate on the future. This is very important.”

It should be noted that the November 10 statement stipulates the unblocking of transport communication in the region. It also ensures the building of Nakhchivan corridor. The leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia held their first post-war meeting in Moscow on January 11 to discuss the implementation of transport projects in the region.