Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told world leaders in Astana on Wednesday that Armenia is seeking to maintain the status quo in the Nagorno (Upper) Karabakh conflict and turn peace talks into "a meaningless process", but Baku "will not let that happen".

President Aliyev said while addressing the summit that Armenia tends to head toward an escalation of the conflict, violates the ceasefire and stages military drills in the Azerbaijani territories it occupies. The country is also renaming historical sites and pursuing a policy of illegal settlements in those lands.

"In a nutshell, Armenia is rendering null the opportunities that emerged for a peaceful conflict settlement."

The president said, however, that Azerbaijan remains committed to peace talks. "We are ready to continue holding talks and finalize them as soon as possible."

Aliyev reiterated that Nagorno Karabakh is Azerbaijan's historical and internationally recognized territory and the Karabakh conflict could be settled strictly within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Though the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence at the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991, this "independence" has not been recognized by the world community.