Azernews.Az

BAKU- President Ilham Aliyev said Tuesday the Azerbaijani government and people will never grant the Armenia-occupied Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh region a status that would separate it from Azerbaijan.
President Aliyev told a cabinet meeting that ways of restoring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity were being discussed in the ongoing peace talks.
"There is not and cannot be any mechanism in the issues being negotiated about Nagorno Garabagh’s ever breaking away from Azerbaijan. I am specifically pointing out that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is not and will not be a subject of discussion. Azerbaijan is taking part in negotiations based strictly upon these principles.
"The mediators’ proposal is also that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity must be restored and refugees are to return to their lands," Aliyev said.
The president said that Armenia, the separatists in Nagorno Garabagh or any other party "cannot unilaterally grant Nagorno Garabagh any status without Azerbaijan’s involvement and consent".
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Despite numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered negotiations, peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the armed conflict in the early 1990s returned home, and only after that could the status of Upper Garabagh be determined within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
President Aliyev said Azerbaijan’s military expenses currently amount to $2.150 billion. He said that while negotiating, Baku is strengthening its armed forces to be ready for a military solution to the long-standing Garabagh conflict if such a need arises.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan has created a powerful defense industry, pointing out that the country’s military power could play a crucial role in resolving the Garabagh conflict.
"We have to be ready to liberate our lands. We have such capabilities, and we will further increase our military might," the commander-in-chief said, adding that Azerbaijan’s financial resources allow this as well.*