Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan issued a strongly worded warning on Friday that it could soon move to liberate its territories that have been occupied by neighboring Armenia since a 1990s war.

"Azerbaijan has all the potential required to exercise this right in line with international law and we will carry this out in the coming months," First Parliament Vice-Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov told reporters, reiterating that war has always been and remains on the country’s agenda.

About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, has been occupied by the Armenian armed forces since a brutal war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Four UN resolutions on unconditional pullout of Armenian troops have not been implemented and OSCE-brokered peace talks have been largely fruitless so far. Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly warned that the country’s land will be freed at any cost.

Asgarov said extensive efforts were being made "toward overall militarization of the Azerbaijani economy".

"I believe that Azerbaijan’s entire economy, particularly the industrial sector, should be shifted to military tracks," he said.

Asgarov noted that the international community has proven to be incapable of putting pressure on Armenia.

"We can no longer and have no time to tolerate the mischievous policy of President Serzh Sargsyan and his government. Azerbaijan has displayed utmost patience to this day. And the world community witnessed that Azerbaijan supports peace and negotiations. But international law allows Azerbaijan to liberate its territory in any shape or form. This is our right."

Asgarov said Armenia’s attempts to recognize the self-proclaimed republic run by ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno Karabakh region are doomed to fail, as "Armenians, themselves, know all too well that recognizing the separatist regime would once again confirm Armenia’s occupation from the legal point of view".

Though the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence in 1991, it has not been recognized by the world community.

A bill that would allow Armenia to sign deals with unrecognized republics was adopted in the country’s parliament on Wednesday.