Azernews.Az

BAKU – President Ilham Aliyev has said the status quo in Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh is unacceptable and must change, according to the president’s website.

President Aliyev told a news conference with European Union President Herman Van Rompuy in Brussels on Wednesday that the recent statement by the presidents of the countries brokering peace talks - the U.S., France and Russia – made in Deauville, France was an "encouraging" document.

"We were very encouraged by the statement saying the conflict must be resolved on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act documents, which envision territorial integrity [of states] and self-determination of nations. We want the conflict to be settled in a short time so that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis would return to their homes after our territories are freed from [Armenian] occupation."

The Karabakh conflict flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, since the two countries signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war that displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. OSCE mediators have led negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh settlement but little progress has been made so far.

European Union head Rompuy said it is time to step up effort to finalize basic principles of the conflict settlement. He said the EU strongly supported a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict, a long-lasting dispute flaring in the EU neighborhood.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents will discuss the basic principles of the conflict's resolution drafted by the U.S., Russia, and France in the Russian city of Kazan on Friday.

President Aliyev and the EU chief also spoke of various fields of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU.

Rompuy said the EU was committed to expanding its relations with the South Caucasus republic.

"This is reflected in the preparations and expectations ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit to be held in Warsaw in September," Rompuy said. "The summit will be an opportunity for both the EU and its eastern partners to renew their commitments. This will include the joint commitment to the values and principles that underpin the Eastern Partnership, in particular democratic principles and practices, the respect for human rights, good governance and the rule of law."

President Aliyev praised the Azerbaijan-EU relations, saying "today they have entered a new stage". Aliyev said the Eastern Partnership program has opened up new opportunities for vivacious dialog. He said the work on the Association Agreement was underway, adding it would cover a number of fields.

"The agreement will allow creating a framework for long-term cooperation, which will draw us closer to Europe."